Woruba: World's Basket
by Murasaki Argenteria
Summary: Furuba!AU of Hetalia! Summary: A Family with a curse almost as old as time itself and the girl who will change their lives forever. Meet Juliana Martina Bennett a not-so-typical/average American girl. This is a tale about her and the family she will come to consider as her own... Maybe. NOT UKxOC! incomplete! Story being moved and reposted on a different account as of 8/19/2014!
1. IMPORTANT! Edit? What Edit?

**IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU MOVE ON!**

Before Anyone Reads Anything, I would like to note that you should check out my Profile. But Since I'm sure none of you (or very few of you) are actually going to do that, I'm going to say everything here as well... Summarized/Said Differently.

Ok, so, I know I said I was going to revise everything but I've been on hiatus for so long and people have actually asked for me to put everything up as it has been before. So to those that asked for that YES, That is exactly what I am going to do.

However, because some of the revisions were a bit...radical...to say the least, I have decided to post EVERYTHING (at least for the ones that I have the originals for) exactly as they were before I started taking things down and revising. For some of the things, stories might make more sense or Omake's and things (Like Stuck's Theatre thing...which I will be taking down).

On the other hand, because I will be doing this, I will NOT be posting the revisions on this account. I will do it on another account once I can get back into the swing of things. I am only doing this right now because I happen to have a bit of time to do so, and I have no assignments that absolutely need to be done _right now_. Please remember I am a college student/freshman that is trying to adjust to college life, so things may take a little while. However, I WILL NOT abandon the stories I have on this account. The revisions will simply be posted on another account which I will inform everyone of once I find/remember/create one. So please be patient for a while more, and thank you.

That's really all I wanted to tell you guys, so enjoy the old stuff! (And yes, that means these won't be finished... at least, not on this account! I will, however, post a notice when I figure out my other account, so don't worry! You will be getting everything and more when I finally get to posting things again... OTL)

Anyways, that should be everything (Wow, this is longer than what I posted on my profile...weird), so hopefully you can all still enjoy my old juvenile writing!

- Murasaki Argenteria (04.25.2013)


	2. 1 Bonnefoy House

**Woruba**: World's Basket!

* * *

**Note**: Leaving Chapter 1 as is because there's really no change to it. Enjoy!  
- Murasaki Argenteria (04.25.2013)

**Edit**: I've edited and revised this a bit so that it flows better. It's basically the same, but a few people have told me that they didn't understand some of the words, so I've added translations in a bit similarly to what I did for the Russian (yes that is russian by the way) it won't affect new readers that much, but I do hope you enjoy it better. =3

Also, I'm moving some of the important information up here, so that it's clear, and less confusing. So, on we go~~!

(Also, is it sad that this is actually the shortest, most fitting summary I have for this? otl)

**Summary**: A Family with a curse almost as old as time itself and the girl who will change their lives forever. Meet Juliana Martina Bennett a not-so-typical/average American girl. This is a tale about her and the family she will come to consider as her own... Maybe.

**Genres**: Supernatural, Drama, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Romance -Jashin, there are way too many... ^^;;;

**WARNING!**: Possible OoC-ness as this is AU; OCs of course, and random language, as far as the story goes. Also, Shounen/Shoujo-Ai and Het are all possible here, so please keep an open mind. This is NOT going to be EnglandxOC, just so you all know. I've got plans for our wayward heroes...and heroines. -insert evil laugh-

Ahem! Anyways. I am a sporadic updater, meaning I update when I want and not when people tell me. Yes, it's nice when people say they want more, and it DOES motivate me to write more (hinthint), but when I have over four-hundred hits, and twelve alerts/favorites, and only nine reviews, that just kinda makes me sad... Do people not like this story? Anyways, I'm not going to stop because of that, since there are the few that really support me, and actually ask good questions or point things out to me, and ask me to explain. So unless those people disappear this story goes on. Still, I'd like people to think about what I've just said. But I digress.

**Disclaimer**: Murasaki Argenteria in NO way owns Hetalia or Furuba (Fruit's Basket for those who watch the dubs... *shudders violently* Ugh... Dubs... -_-")

Oh, and... Also, if any of the other languages are wrong, I'm sorry. But I used Google Translate for those, so BLAME TEH GOOGLE! Cuz I most probably will NOT try to fix anything, due to all the stuff I'm working on right now~

**Notes**: Most of the other stuff that doesn't pertain to the chapter that you don't need to necessarily know will be down there *points to end of chapter* so, have fun! And tell me what you think if you haven't ;P Anons~~ If you have an account, please tell me so I can reply directly to you. I won't post the response for all to see if you don't want, but if it makes a good point, I probably will anyways. Ciao~

* * *

"Uwah~~ So warm... Looks like today'll be another hot day~~" The onyx haired girl shaded her dark, greyish-brown eyes as she smiled up into the sky.

The girl wore a simple, faded dark purple tee with faded grey letters across the front, and a smaller section in the corner of the back, with a small illustration and continuing words that looked as if they had been scrawled on in the same thread as the letters across the front. She also wore black skorts, with the 'shorts' part ending just above her knees, while the skirt reached mid-thigh. Aside from that, though, she wore a pair of dark, grey socks and plain black canvas shoes, while her trusty old messenger bag slung over her shoulder, and with the bag resting somewhere around her hip.

At the moment, though, she was humming quietly as she looked fondly down at a picture of a rather beautiful woman with long, obsidian black hair a shade or two darker than her own, and dark, coffee-brown eyes framed by long black lashes. The woman was smiling brightly at the camera, lips painted a cherry red that just seemed to enhance her beauty by that much more.

"Well, I don't think I forgot anything," she said cheerfully, smiling at the picture of her mother, "So you're in charge again today, mom! I'm off~~!" she exclaimed before heading out…

* * *

_Hello there!_ My name is Juliana Martina Bennett –but you can just call me Jay!

About a year or so ago, my mom passed away. She raised me by herself, so when she was gone, so was our home. I mean, sure, it was just a small two-bedroom apartment home, but it was perfect for us! I kinda miss it, actually… but, I digress! We're getting off track!

So anyways, like I said, after mom died, I was pretty much evicted from out apartment –thankfully, though, the landlady was really nice and gave me lots of time to pack and all that, so I still have everything that's important to me!

Now, though, I live alone in this tent. It's a long story, really.

I can't say my life's been easy, but I can't say it was all that hard, either! I mean, I _do_ make it out alright, after all. And no matter what happens, I would never let any of that get me down! After all, there are people who are probably worse off than I am, so really, I suppose you could say that I count myself as one of the luckier ones!

Even if it's not always true –still, that's just me! Ever the optimist~~~!

* * *

As she walked down the forest path to school, the onyx-haired girl managed to spot a house. It was painted the typical white, and was about the typical shape for a house as far out into the wood as it was, though it wasn't exactly _normal_ looking…

The house was built with a slightly 'different' style of architecture, and mostly wood. The house looked like a mishmash of many of the world's different housing styles all pushed into one building. Mostly European and –strangely enough- Japanese.

Curious about the structure, Jay wandered closer to take a look…

* * *

_Wow... I didn't know anyone lived around here! It's so_peaceful_...!_ she thought, looking around the more Asian-typical part of the house, with the Japanese patio, and sliding screen doors (thought it did look a bit stronger than just paper), that were somewhat open, revealing a kotatsu in what looked like a living room.

_Oh, how cute-!_ she thought, when she noticed some small, clay figures drying out on the deck, a map of the world pinned up on the wall behind it. There were so many animals, and she noticed that it wasn't the zodiac, but...

_Is that an eagle...?_ she blinked, as she stared at the various figures. She saw birds, mammals, and sea-creatures a-like. From what she could tell (there were labels under some of the figures), they were the National Animals of the World's Nations... Or at least... _some_ of them.

There were what looked like different types of Eagles (she couldn't really tell them apart other than color and size), a _Rooster_, bears, horses, bison, a bull, different cats of the feline species, but...

"Oh my! What's this? I _must_ be seeing things~~!"

"Oh-!" Jay stifled a squeak, as she looked up at the source of her surprise.

"_Une belle demoiselle _(a beautiful young lady), out here~? My, my..." She blushed, seeing a rather handsome looking man with blue eyes and shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair tied loosely into a ponytail at his nape, and just enough facial hair to look like it was just before his morning shave, despite the fact that he was only wearing a dark blue bathrobe that was only _loosely_ tied at the waist, revealing a sculpted chest, and...

_Oh my_... were those... _boxers_...?

"E-eh-? H-hello-! I'm so sorry for trespassing! I just saw these cute figures and-"

_Wah~~~! There was someone here? !_ she cried mentally, berating herself for probably looking like a fool. She had no doubt that there were leaves and whatnot stuck in her long onyx hair from her 'shortcut' in her haste to get a closer look at the figures –without compromising on her attendance, of course.

The man just chuckled, as a rose (_Where did that come from?_) appeared in his hand, a rolled-up newspaper was folded under his arm, as he smiled at her, "Oh, go ahead and look all you wish, _oui_ (yes)? I was merely setting them out here to dry, _vous voir_ (you see)~~"

She blinked at his French accent and odd... _demeanor_ (and was it just her? Or had the robe 'conveniently' slipped down just enough to reveal more of his upper body? {One of the sleeves had actually slipped off enough to reveal a smooth, white shoulder}) having _just_ a little trouble understanding him through said accent.

"Although, I thought you _gens jeune_ (young ones/people) were bored by such things _geographies lie _(geography related)?" he asked.

"Eh?" she blinked, causing him to blink in turn, the rose touching his lips just slightly.

"Oh, my, did I slip into _François_ (French), again? My apologies, _ma cherie_ (my dear)," he smiled, "I was saying: I thought that you 'young people' were bored by such things 'geography related'?" he asked.

"N-No! I mean... true, I'm not the best at academic subjects like that..." she blushed, a bit embarrassed, as she mentally berated herself -again (though, this time for revealing one of her 'weaknesses' to a total stranger)...

"B-But-!" she went on, "I... just _love_ anything animal related!" she smiled, "And, countries _are_ quite fun... There are _soo_ many different types of cultures, different foods, languages... symbols... But we're all the same inside!" she unconsciously began smiling warmly, "We're all still people of the world!"

"Oh-?" The man blinked, "Is... that so...?" he seemed to become a bit thoughtful as he studied her, "So... what do you think?" he asked suddenly.

"Eh?" she blinked tilting her head slightly in confusion as he grinned.

"What do you think of the figures?" he clarified for her.

"Oh-!" she blushed again (_Hoho~ How cute..._ he thought), "Well... I think they're very well made, but..." she hesitated slightly.

The man raised a single blonde brow, "But?" he prompted.

"Hmn... Well... It... looks like you didn't make the 'Lion'..." she pointed out, a little embarrassed.

"Oh? You mean... _Angleterre_ (England)'s National Animal...?" he asked, surprised.

"Uh-huh," she nodded; she had been able to randomly remember the animals of certain nations -especially the 'world powers', since it helped her in remembering other things.

"Although... I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised considering the 'history'..." she mumbled, remembering how her mother had taught her to remember the nations and everything else. She was a bit dense, but... stories did help, sometimes...

_"England was the only Nation under God that didn't completely follow the 'rules', you see, since he tended to use 'magic' that could be associated with the devil..."_her mother had told a wide-eyed five-year old Juliana.

_"Eh? But isn't that bad?"_ she had asked, eyes wide.

She had been so incredibly young back then...

_"Well, since he didn't exactly fit in with either 'God' or the 'Devil', he really was of neither side..."_ her mother had told her.

_"Eh-! That's so sad! That's it! I'll stop being American and become British!"_ she had exclaimed...

Jay smiled sadly, causing the Frenchman to blink, "You are alright, _oui_?" he asked, when she shook her head, and came back to the 'real world'.

"Eh?" she blinked, blushing again when she realized that she'd spaced out again, "Oh! Sorry! I was just remembering... You see, my mom used to tell me this story about the Nations, and how they had 'feelings' and were like people as well!" she smiled, "I... kinda believed it, and I wanted to be British when I was a child!" she laughed, "Silly, right?" she asked.

The man blinked, "Oh?" _She knows the tale of the 'curse'...? No, no... she couldn't, she didn't say anything about the animals..._

"Uhm, well, she also told me this story about the animals," she admitted, "and how England chose the Lion, but everyone thought he was so proud, and started to ignore him..." she started to space out again as she basically 'summarized' the story her mother had told her (this one was to help her remember countries and their national animals).

The man froze, _Or... perhaps she does..._he thought, sweating slightly, though he motioned for her to go on.

She nodded, and complied, "See, England used to be reeeally powerful before America, right?" she pointed out, as he nodded, "Well," she continued, "After that, since not many nations liked how powerful he was-"

"He?" the blonde blinked.

"Er... well... I... guess that's kinda sexist..." she blushed, "But... I kinda always saw England as a guy, even though there were such great Queens... But... Ah, I'm getting off-track again. Haha!" she grinned sheepishly, scratching her cheek lightly, "Sorry, I tend to randomly go off sometimes," she admitted.

"_Non, non_(no, no)! It's quite fine, really~~ I do so at times as we-" he started, before a bag landed on the man's head (he had ended up crouching at some point, she realized), "-ll..." he trailed off.

"Honestly, Francis-_san_, do you have to be such a pervert...?" a soft voice asked, sounding annoyed.

"Eh..." Jay's eyes widened as she stared at the so-called 'Prince' of their school (not to mention _town_), shocked, to say the least at the difference in behavior.

"Oh-! _Mon beau visage _(my beautiful face)-!" he complained, rubbing his poor face, "What do you have in there, Kiku? _Un dictionnaire_ (a dictionairy)_?_" he pouted childishly.

The slender onyx-haired boy just sighed, "I have _two_, actually," he answered, unfazed, and somehow managing to 'translate' the other's words easily.

"...?" Jay, who had no experience with French (other than a few obvious words like 'non', 'oui', and 'mademoiselle'), could only guess at what he had said... Well, other than the 'un dictionnaire' part. She figured that meant 'dictionary'. What? She did have _some_ modicum of common sense...

Really, she did!

"My apologies, Bennett-_san_. My... _cousin_... didn't do anything to you, did he?" he asked, turning to Jay.

"E-eh-?" she blinked, as Francis pouted, protesting his 'innocence' -though he was ignored.

"Ah, n-no! Oh! And, uhm G-Good Morning, Kiku...!" she blushed, feeling a bit frazzled at seeing the SGO President of their grade smiling slightly at her so early in the morning.

"Must you all make me out as such an _apostat_ (pervert)?" Francis grumbled to the side.

"Good Morning," he smiled, ignoring the pouting Frenchman, for all that he 'discreetly' kicked the man in the leg.

"-!" Francis shot a glare at Kiku, but smiled back at Jay when she tilted her head slightly and asked if something was wrong...

_Mother... It seems... that today... will be an odd day after all..._ she thought, recalling her horoscope for the day (Yes, she did believe in horoscopes -if only because her mother had taught her about them)...

* * *

"_JULIANA BENNETT!_" a group of girls surrounded the poor, surprised looking girl. "YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" They glared.

"E-Eh?" Jay blinked, too shocked to really say anything in defense.

"_Well_?" asked (what _looked_to be) the lead girl of the group (a.k.a. Kiku's fanclub). Before she could even open her mouth to say anything, though, the girl continued, practically ranting, "_Why did you and Kiku come to school together? !_ You better give us a full and total explanation!" she raged.

"Yeah!" "That's right!" "Full and _complete_!" the other girls added.

"_Well_? !" the leader of the small group asked, glaring right into the poor girl's face.

"I-It was just a coincidence-!" she sweat slightly, backing up a step, "D-Don't you think you're all over-reacting a bit...?" she asked, voice soft compared to the harpies that surrounded her.

"Why you...! _Overreacting-? !_ IF COINCIDENCES LIKE THAT WERE LEGAL, _THERE WOULD BE NO SUCH THING AS POLICE!_" she exclaimed, practically screaming at poor Jay, now.

"HEY! DON'T SCREAM IN THE HALLS!" called a random student in said halls.

The warning was ignored.

"Look! Just cuz Kiku's so kind as to 'hang out' with you is no reason to get a swelled head!" the preppy girl exclaimed.

"B-But I'm not-!"

"_Hey,_you!" A girl with shoulder-length maroon hair (yes, _maroon_) appeared behind the small 'crowd', giving them goose-bumps, as she, and a silvery-white/blonde haired girl, glared down (well, in the brunette's case, anyways, the blonde was about a head or so shorter than her) at them. "She _told_ you it was a fucking _coincidence_, didn't she? Why don't you суки (suki/bitches) stop _fantasizing_ and get a damned _life!_" she glared.

"M-Morissa... Rei..." Juliana sweat slightly, though she still raised a hand to wave at the two girls.

"Wh-What the hell-!" the blonde in front of them was sweating bullets despite the fact that she was trying to act like she wasn't scared at all...

Nope, not at _all_... "H-How dare you threaten us! W-We're not scared of you!" she exclaimed, as the girls started to back away just a step, "D-Don't think that we're through just cuz of the gangster-girl!" they warned Jay.

"Wh-What are _you_ staring at, _freak_? !" one of the girls demanded from the silver-y haired girl.

"..." Rei just continued to stare, eyes becoming slightly shadowed, as she seemed to glare down at them with a 'how dare you speak to _me_like that, you scum' expression, for all that it looked as neutral, and apathetic, as always.

"I _could_ always_curse_them with *_{__**A/N**__: I'm lazy, lol, so use your imagination for a curse that's scary as hell XD}_*..." she started to say, causing the girls to scream, and run away, expressions of terror on their faces.

"Y-You saved me..." Jay sighed mentally, as she was pulled into a hug.

"Tche, those _суки_..." Morissa grumbled, hugging her 'poor little Jay'. "Rei, don't actually curse them," she added in after a second, as if in after-thought.

"..." Rei said nothing, though they all knew she wouldn't _really_ do that... r-right...?

* * *

_"Oh, you're in_jeune_Kiku's class?" Francis asked cheerfully, as the obviously Asian boy sighed._

_"P-Please to meet you! I'm Juliana Bennett! But you can call me Jay!" she said, nodding in response to Francis' question._

_"..." Kiku remained silent until he thought of something, causing the other two to look over at him questioningly, "Ah, that reminds me... Bennett-san... what are you doing here?" he asked._

_"Oh-!" Jay blushed, "Uhm, I-I live nearby!" she told them -well, it wasn't exactly a_lie_, now was it...?_

_Technically..._

_"_Near... _here_..._?" both blinked, and stared at her._

_"_Tres, se pas...?_" Francis mumbled thoughtfully, though only Kiku seemed to hear._

_"...?"_

_"Well... In any case, it seems we'll be late if we stay much longer. And, since you're here, shall we walk together?" asked Kiku, turning to look at Jay now._

_"Eh? O-Oh... sure...!" she blushed..._

"...and I was _soo_ nervous!" she admitted, as she explained what had happened to her friends, "Kiku is really good-looking, so...

"I just ended up freezing up," she admitted, a light blush on her face, as she spoke.

"Is that so..." Rei murmured softly, holding up a knife, and seeming to study it, as she spoke, "His aura_ does_ give off a rather odd 'vibe'..."

Morissa grinned, "Oh~ his _aura_, huh?" she asked.

_Looks like it's time for Rei's 'psychic report'~_ she thought. Her 'readings' on people were usually accurate and always fun (well, in _her_mind anyways -after all, she could use it as _blackmail_, at times, to get said people to 'do stuff' for her... What? She _was_ an ex-gang-member, she wasn't quite above extortion). Well, that and Rei rarely talked unless she _had_ to anyways...

"_Odd_?" Jay blinked, tilting her head slightly in question, as Rei sheathed the kitchen knife.

"Yes... I honestly don't know how else to explain it," she said absently.

The ex-gangster rolled her eyes, "What's there _to_ explain? The guy's a fucking (-" "Rissa!" Jay pouted. "-...Sorry, Jay," 'Rissa' apologized with a slight nod, going on. "Anyways, like I was saying, the guy's an) enigma. He never really talks about himself," she reminded them, "Not that I really _care_," she made clear.

"But anyways, I heard that some Senior actually confessed her 'love'-" she practically spat the word out, seeing how many people used it so damn _loosely_ these days, "-and when she tried to grab his hand, he actually _flung_ her away -totally freaked the суки out," she continued, remembering not to curse in English this time, so that Jay wouldn't reprimand her (she really couldn't, see as she didn't really know what it meant, though she could _guess_).

"W-Wow..." Jay sweat slightly, "I didn't know that-!" she exclaimed, before looking thoughtful, "I wonder why...?"

"Well, whatever," Rissa shrugged, not really caring about _why_, though it was an interesting bit of 'gossip' she had picked up. "it's interesting, though," she admitted.

"...It's the mystery that makes him so intriguing..." Rei said at last.

"Yeah, exactly~" Morissa grinned.

"HEY! You three, stop gabbing, and get back to coo-" the Culinary Teacher blinked, sweating slightly as she stared at the girls' completed 'projects'. "Oh..." she could only blink and stare at the wonderful looking meal laid out before her at the girl's table.

{**A/N**: It's one of those 'professional' kitchens with counters that can be sat at, like Culinary Colleges usually have.}

"Hey, can we f-" she started, before seeing Jay's frown and the teacher's glare, and sweat slightly, deciding to change what she had been about to say, "uh... can we _eat_ now or what?" she asked.

The teacher twitched, "Who do you think you're fooling, Margrett?" she asked, annoyance radiating from her very being, for all that she smiled at the maroon-haired girl, "Rei and Juliana probably did all the work,_again_, didn't they?" she asked, twitching slightly as she loomed over them.

"What do you care?" said girl asked, rolling her eyes, "It's not like this class is 'academic' or 'required' and shit..." she pointed out, adding more fuel to the fire.

"R-Rissa...!" Jay sweat.

"...The potatoes are done..." Rei said at last, taking the baked potatoes out of the oven and unwrapping them.

"..." Jay sighed, deciding that perhaps it'd be best to give up, for now...

"Ha...ha..." she sweat slightly, as the teacher forced herself to calm down and stalk off, before she did something... _inappropriate_... in front of the students... (ie. killing a certain maroon-haired ex-gangstress)

"Oh-! Hey, Jules, Me'n Rei are going shopping before we go home, today. Why don't you-" Rissa started before pausing, "Oh... wait, you've got work after school today, don't you?" she remembered.

"Yeah, I really don't want to be late," she apologized.

"...It sucks..." Rei said after a moment of silence, attracting the other two's attention. "You... have to pay for college, school, and whatever other expenses yourself," she added, when she saw their questioning looks, as she finished splitting up the portions of food onto different plates.

"You really shouldn't have to do all that, though..." she said, passing one of the trays over, "I don't think its right that you have to work every day, just to pay for all of that..."

"Hmn... Yeah, but... I really wanna be able to 'pay my own way' after Graduation, you know?" she pointed out, "That's why I've gotta start saving now!"

"_Черт возьми(_Chert vozʹmi/goddamnit), Jules!" Morissa exclaimed all of a sudden.

"Y-yes?" Jay jumped a bit, startled.

"You're making me cry~!" she told the girl, and, true to her word, tears were forming in her eyes, though they refused to fall. Rissa sniffed slightly, "Eat up, Jules! You need your strength!"

"Er, y-yes ma'am..." Jay sweat, but smiled and took the tray nonetheless, and they all ate in silence for a bit.

"Hmn..." Rei and Jay used a set of chopsticks the girls carried with them {**A/N**: For what reason, I'll let you guess =P}, while Rissa used the typical fork and (since they didn't allow _actual_ knives aside from the kitchen ones) a plastic knife.

"Hey..." Rissa said after shoveling some of the food into her mouth, and swallowing. "You're still living with your dad's family, right!" she asked.

"Y-Yes!" Jay exclaimed, partly surprised, but mostly because she couldn't really tell them that she wasn't exactly living with her grandfather anymore...

"They're feeding you properly, right? And they're not cheating you out of your hard-earned money, are they?" she demanded to know.

"Erhm..." _I... can't tell them the truth-!_she sweat.

_If she knew I was 'living it rough' in a tent, and in the_woods_, Rissa would be sooo mad-! She'd probably break into Grandpa's house...!_ she thought.

* * *

As she walked down the nearly empty halls, Jay thought about how her day had gone. First, Second, and Third periods had gone pretty normally, seeing as she didn't really share those classes with either Rissa or Rei, though they _did_ share homerooms, for some reason (even though their last names were so spread out in the alphabet... Although, that may have had something to do with how they were trying to 'make the homerooms even', and how the names were randomly chosen...); although, her World History class-partner, Matthew, had been missing for a while, so she had had to work on their project alone. Strangely enough, though, no one seemed to notice…

Fourth Period had been Cooking, though it was a 'special' class compared to the other Cooking classes, since it was a class especially for those that had trouble paying their lunch fees, and chose to make their own rather than to buy lunches. Usually because of certain 'circumstances', though the class was two periods, since it also went into their 'official' lunch period (there were three lunches, and unlike regular classes, the lunches are only half an hour as opposed to forty-five minutes), which didn't really count as a period.

After lunch, she had gym with Rissa, then a Science class and Health, unless it was Friday, when they had 'lab-days' that extended into seventh period, which was, of course, Health, a class that she shared with Rei. (The reason she and Rissa had gym, even though they were Juniors, was because Rissa always skipped, so she failed -the only reason she was attending this time, was because Jay was there- and Jay... Well, let's just say she had _zero_ ability in Phys. Ed...)

As she walked to her assigned locker, she was broken out of her reverie by the sound of a locker shutting.

"Oh-!" Juliana blinked, when she saw Kiku by his locker, bag in hand. "K-Kiku-! Uhm, I, er... I-I'm _really_ sorry about this morning!" she blurted out, bowing her head slightly, as she shut her eyes.

A light chuckle made her look up, though, "It's alright, Bennett-_san_, Besides, it is_I_who should apologize to you," he replied, smiling slightly at Jay. "I'm very sorry for my 'cousin's rudeness," he said, bowing slightly.

She decided not to correct him when he called her by her last name again. After all, it had to do with his culture, and besides, she really didn't mind... well, _too_ much...

"O-Oh, no! Please don't-!" she started, hands in the air, since she herself was half-Asian and kind of understood, though she didn't really look it. It made her rather uncomfortable. "He was really nice!" she said, panicking a bit, "We were just looking at the animal figures he made, and talking!" she exclaimed, spazzing a bit as she did so.

"Ah, I see..." Kiku smiled slightly, straightening, as she pulled a few things out of her locker, and put a few things in, that she really wouldn't need. "_Anno_ (uhm)..." he started once she had all her stuff ready, and shut her locker, "I know this might be rude of me, but... I couldn't help but overhear what you said this morning... Is... it true that you wish to be _British_...?" he asked, looking at her curiously...

"E-Eh? Y-You heard that...?" she flushed, "Uhm, well... I... I was {**A/N**: *cough* and still _are_ *cough*} rather..._eccentric_ as a child..." she said, giving up on trying to not blush...

"Oh, I... see," Kiku said after a moment's pause.

"...? Is... Is something wrong, Kiku...?" she blinked, when the quiet male seemed to brood.

Kiku blinked, but smiled slightly, "No, no... I... was just thinking," he said, deciding not to 'voice his thoughts' as per usual, though he would speak if he _had_ to...

"Oh, I... I see," she said, about to add on, when a loud beeping noise made her jump, "Eep-!" she squeaked, before realizing that it was her phone.

"Oh... Haha... It was my phone..." she blushed, grinning a bit sheepishly as she held up a pale blue BlackBerry Pearl (a gift from her grandfather), when Kiku raised a single brow in question, before actually taking a look at _why_ her phone was 'calling to her'.

"Eeh-? Oh no! I-Is it that late already? Ah-! I-I'm so sorry, Kiku! I've gotta go to work!" she exclaimed, panicking, as she pressed the buttons she needed to stop the 'alerts' she used daily.

{**A/N**: I bet you're wondering how it still works when she's living in a tent? Well, she charges it during school, and as for why she has such an expensive phone. It was a birthday gift from her grandfather on her dad's side (the one she's _supposed_ to be living with), and she keeps it off when she doesn't use it.}

Kiku just smiled slightly and chuckled a bit, "It's quite alright, Bennett-san, but..." he started, as she finally stopped spazzing and looked up at him (he was about an inch or so taller than her).

"Eh?" she blinked, when a hand reached up to pull a leaf out of her hair (_Oh my gosh! Has that been in there the entire_day_?_she wailed mentally). She blushed slightly at their closeness.

"I noticed this morning, but... You're looking a bit pale," he told her, smiling softly, as he was wont to, "It's been quite hot lately, so you really shouldn't overexert yourself, Bennett-san," he chided lightly.

"Well," he said, as she just flushed and stared, a hand where the leaf had previously been as she watched him leave, "I'll see you tomorrow, then," he told her, bowing his head slightly, before walking off...

"..."

_"It's the Mystery that makes him so intriguing_..." Rei's words repeated themselves in her head as she watched him go.

_I... think I may know what Rei was talking about now..._ she thought, still blushing slightly, as she fiddled a bit with the clip in her hair that the leaf had stuck to.

_My head's spinning just being_around_him-!_ she sweat slightly, chuckling.

"Don't you _dare_ get a swelled head, Juliana-!" several seething voices made her jump, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Wah-!" she exclaimed, shocked by the... er... _fanclub_... (_stalkers_..._?_she sweat) that followed Kiku around most of the time.

"YOU BETTER NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF KIKU'S KINDNESS!" the girls exclaimed.

"Eek-! I-I won't!" she exclaimed, "Really...!"

* * *

_"You really shouldn't overexert yourself, Bennett-san..."_

You... honestly shouldn't worry about me, Kiku_,_ because I know, really I do, but...

I'm sure that _mom_ had it much worse.

_"Jay~~ Mama wants some home-made ramen~~"_

_"E-Eh...? O-Okay...!"_

_"Ya-ho~!"_

You see, my father died when I was quite young (around three, actually), and Mom had to work hard to support us!

She was always working, but...

She always managed to find time to be there for me.

She was my cheerful protector, and... it never occurred to me that she could die.

_"She can't live with us! Our house is too small as it is!" "My parents are staying at ours!"_

_"Wah~~ Mama~~!" "Hush, Lynda!"_

Mom..._Jay sniffled tearfully, as she hugged the large picture frame with her deceased mother's picture in it._

_They had decided to hold a 'traditional' funeral for her, in the style of her old home._

There were arguments about who would take me in -though I'm sure they all have their reasons...

And, since I really don't have much family other than that on my dad's side around here, there weren't really many choices of who I could stay with.

So, in the end, they decided that it would be best if I stayed with Grandpa. But, Grandpa lives off a pension, so...

I promised to pay my expenses myself...

_That_ was a while back, but almost a month ago.

_"Ah, Rina..."_

_"Er, I'm..._Jay_... Juliana, Grandpa... And, uhm... Dinner's ready..."_

_"Oh, thank you, Rina..."_

_"It's Jay, Grandpa... Uhm... Let's just go eat, shall we...?"_

_"Yes, yes, of course... Oh, and Rina..."_

_"...It's_Jay_, Grandpa..."_

_"You know, my daughter's family is coming to live with us, so, I thought it would be nice to remodel the house before they got here..._

_"During the remodeling, I'll be staying at their place, so... I'm very sorry about this, but... Would you possibly mind staying with a friend during that time...?"_

Morissa lives in a rather small apartment, and Rei-chan has a family of six, so... I really couldn't bear to trouble them for however many months it would take to remodel!

But, as I was thinking, it hit me!

_"Okay, Grandpa!"_

_"Wonderful, Wonderful...!"_

I'm going to start living by myself someday, anyways...

So why not just start now? That's right! A person has to make their own luck!

It's all in how you think about things! Even if it means having no money and living in a dusty old tent that you found in the recycling!

I mean, sure it had to be patched up and cleaned up a bit to be used, but it's still usable...!

"Er... hey, could you hurry and move these please? They're kinda in the way..." a middle-aged blonde with a thin, close-shaven beard called out, staring down at the pile of trash in front of the doorway. "I... can't get out..." he said, sweating slightly.

"Oh-! Of course! I'm so sorry!" Juliana snapped out of her trance, and immediately got to work.

"Eh- So young? !" the man did a double-take when he realized how young she looked (She only looked about fifteen despite being around 16, now), and stared after her, startled.

_Even if, instead of door-to-door salesmen_{**A/N**: Who the hell still _does_that? *sweats*}_I'm visited by mosquitoes and stuff!_ (_Although, slugs are just kinda icky... Haha..._)

_Even if a rainstorm threatens to blow away my tent -like it did the other day!_

{**A/N**: THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL LIVING THERE? *shocked* Oh... wait... It's for the sake of the story... whoops, carry on then! XP}

"I'll... never give up!" she exclaimed, as she finished wiping off the last window.

"Hmn... Work's sure gotten easier since that young lady's come to work here..." an elderly janitor murmured to her companion, as they took a break.

"Yes, it sure has..."

* * *

"Hmn... ah, _mon dieu_(good heavens)-! Will you look at _l'heure_ (time)?" he exclaimed, "I almost forgot about dinner, oui?" the Frenchman sighed, as he and Kiku walked down the beaten path to the home they currently shared.

"Take-out every night is no way to live, _vous sais_ (you know)..."

"Then why don't _you_ make dinner, Francis-san?"

"_Oui_, I would, but... eh, you dislike my cooking, remember?" Francis pointed out.

"That's because you served raw _snails_..." Kiku twitched.

"As if _you_ can talk, _ma cher_, you served raw _fish_. I honestly can't see how they're any different... Plus that _disgusting_ green goo..." the man said airily, wrinkling his 'sensitive' nose.

"Besides, _escargot_ is a French _delicacy_, vous sais!" he sniffed.

Kiku just sighed, "That's _Sashimi_, Francis-san -and it may be a 'French delicacy', but it's unhygienic. And wasabi is _not_disgusting. It's used to keep you from getting _sick_, from eating the 'raw fish' as you pointed out."

"But you always _slather_ it in the stuff, ma cher! My _delicate_ taste-buds can't handle all that _piquant_ (spicy), you know!" the Frenchman pouted, "Besides...

"What we _really_ need is _une juene fleur_ (a young flower) to brighten up our _vie barbares_ (barbaric lives)-!"

Kiku stifled a long-suffering sigh, and suppressed a roll of his eyes, "Well aren't _you_ progressive, Francis-san?" he drawled sarcastically.

"What? You'd like to have a woman around the house, _c'est ca_ (right)?" he retorted, before noticing a figure, "Oh, _qu'est ce_ (what's this)? Is that not that juene fille, Jay?" he asked, nudging Kiku.

"...Of _course_," Kiku sighed, "You'd remember a _girl's_ name..."

"Oui, oui~ I _do_ have a gift for that, do I not?" he smirked, speaking airily.

"...That's really not something to be proud of, Francis-san..." Kiku _did_twitch this time...

Francis ignored it though, now frowning, "It's rather _tres tard_ (late) to be wandering around in these woods, though, oui? Does she really live nearby...?" he asked curiously.

"Hmn... Well, I did hear that her mother had died... So perhaps she moved here...?" Kiku reasoned, "But... that's not really possible, is it...?" he asked, looking towards the Frenchman, "We're not renting this land to anyone... are we?" he asked, looking up at Francis, who just shook his head in answer.

"..." The two males exchanged a look.

* * *

"Ah... So tired~~" Jay mumbled, wobbling a bit as she made her way to the three-person tent that she was currently 'living' in.

"I'm home~" she called out tiredly, a light flush on her cheeks that she pushed off as being the heat, though she did have a 'mild headache' {*_cough_*'mild' understatement*_cough_*}...

"Hey mom..." she yawned a bit, "I'm... kinda falling asleep now... but, I still have to finish my homework..." she said, as if talking to the inanimate picture of her deceased mother, "Ah... my head hurts... Maybe if I wash my fa...ce..." she started, climbing out of the tent, only to stop and stare at the two figures staring blankly down at her.

"Pft-!" Kiku glared at the Frenchman beside him when he burst into laughter at the poor girl, "_Ahahahahaha~~! mon_dieu_-!_ A _tent!_ Really? !" the man exclaimed, as Jay flushed.

"Francis-san, don't be rude..." he twitched, though he, too, was staring a bit incredulously, as Jay just seemed flush brighter, and brighter...

_Hmn... She'd give Romano-kun a run for his money (on a bad day)..._the male thought, though he didn't voice it, jabbing the Frenchman_-_rather_painfully_- in the side...

* * *

"...I see," said Kiku blankly, after receiving an explanation from the frazzled, and embarrassed looking girl, "How long have you been living there, Bennett-san...?" he asked, pointedly ignoring the still chuckling Frenchman beside him, as Jay flushed -the poor girl.

"A-About... a week... or so," she mumbled, too embarrassed to face them as she stared into her lap.

"...I had wondered how you could be living nearby... You know that this area is part of our family's property... right?" he asked. _And I know we haven't rented it out, or sold it either..._ he added in his mind, deciding that it would be best to try and not embarrass the girl any further.

"Pft- _un fille_ (a girl)... in a tent-!" Francis mumbled, "-!" before a sharp elbow met his side, causing his already filling eyes to water even more.

"U-Uhm... I'm really sorry, but... If it doesn't bother you... would you mind _terribly_ renting me some camping space...?" she asked, her hands tight in fists on her lap under the kotatsu, as she silently pleaded whatever deities that existed that they would allow her to do so...

"I'll leave as soon as Grandpa's done remodeling his house...!" she promised, "And... I don't have much money, but I _can_ pay-! Please...?" she asked, a look of painful hope on her face, as the two exchanged a look.

"Now wait just a minute, _demoiselle_ (young lady), that place is rather dangerous, you know!" Francis interjected, taking on some modicum of seriousness (_at_last_,_thought Kiku), as he spoke.

"That cliff close by isn't very stable, _vous sais!_ And you never know when some _personnage louche _might pass through-!" he exclaimed.

"...He means 'some shady character'," Kiku confided, rolling his eyes at the man's next 'crack'.

("Like him," he continued, and pointed at the blonde beside him. "Yes! Like _mo-_ Wait a minute!" Francis shot a glare at the Japanese teen beside him, "That was _lieu dire_, Kiku! Very mean!" he pouted somewhat...)

"O-Oh... really?" Jay blinked, sweating slightly.

"Besides," the man went on, seeming -or rather, _pretending_- not to notice Kiku's interruption, "wherever would you plug in your curling iron?" he asked, stifling another chuckle.

"Are you _done_?" Kiku asked dryly, highly unamused, as he raised a single onyx brow.

The man opened his mouth to make another joke, but stopped, wincing, when Kiku jabbed him -discreetly, of course- not even needing to look now, "...Oui, my apologies..." he mumbled.

"I-It's okay!" Jay exclaimed, "I don't really mind the Slugs!" she exclaimed, determined. _Although... they're still pretty creepy... all_squishy_and... stuff..._ she thought, shuddering mentally at a picture of a rather large, and slimy looking slug that showed up in her head.

_'Gah-!'_ both males seat slightly, jumping a bit in surprise, when she suddenly shot up with her little 'announcement'.

"I can take care of myself, really-!" she exclaimed, "I'm... begging you-!" she wobbled, her already weak knees collapsing, as the two immediately shot out of their seats. {**A/N**: Don't forget! She _did_ force herself earlier!}

"Bennett-san-!" Kiku exclaimed, rushing over, as Jay caught herself. "You don't look so well-!" he murmured, as he put a hand close to her forehead -he didn't even _need_ to touch her flushed skin to know that she was sick (She was that warm).

And to think that he had thought it was due to embarrassment-! Kiku chided himself for not noticing earlier, hissing a bit at the heat that practically rolled off her.

"I...I'm okay..." she mumbled dizzily, though she clearly wasn't. Her vision was swirling around dangerously, as she swayed, despite the fact that she was already holding herself up with her shaky arms...

"You've got a _fever_, Bennett-san!" he told her worriedly. Her entire body was shaking...

"_Mon dieu-!_I'll get some ice...!" exclaimed Francis as he headed for the kitchen next door, "Ice..." he blinked, as he stared at the mess in the kitchen. "Er...

"Hmn... Now, if I were ice, wherever would I hide...?" he murmured, scratching his chin with a weak chuckle.

"I-It's like... a garbage jungle..." Jay thought, unaware that she had spoken out loud as she stared at the place with a rather horrified fascination.

How in all hells had they managed to make such a... a...

She really had no word to describe this. It really couldn't be called a kitchen _or_ mess anymore, let alone a dump...!

"Oh-! That's nearly poetic, _oui_?" Francis smiled as Kiku sighed, "Hmn-?" Francis stopped all of a sudden, his head turning right towards the sliding doors they had come in through...

"It seems there was a landslide just now... _n'a pas il?_" he frowned.

"W-What?" Jay stared, wide eyed at the Frenchman, how...?

"And the ground's still weak from the storm last week..." Kiku murmured, standing a little off to the side.

"Uhm... H-How can you tell...?" asked Jay, rather confused, though perhaps that would explain why she felt the room shaking so badly...

Oh, wait... that was her...

"..." Kiku said nothing, frowning slightly as he went to get a first aid kit...

_Just_ in case...

He, too, had heard the call of the birds that had been ousted from their homes...

"How? Well... you could say it was... _l'instict animale_ (animal instinct), oui?" he said, posing just slightly enough that it really couldn't be called posing, though there were still 'sparkles' around him...

Jay hazily wondered if she was starting to hallucinate...

"Stop messing around please, Francis-san... Where was the landslide...?" he asked, seeing as it hadn't been near any of _his_ 'type', he couldn't really tell.

"Always so solemn, jeune Kiku!" Francis pouted, as Jay started to 'angst', something she rarely did, as she brooded.

_Could it have been...?_ she thought, before gasping. "Wh-What if it was near my tent?" she exclaimed, shooting up again from her seat, where Kiku had -surprisingly- forced her.

"_C'est l'esprit_ (that's the spirit)_!_" Francis beamed, "Just kidding, just kidding, haha!" he amended, though, when Kiku shot him a particularly nasty glare.

"Honestly, Francis-san, where _was_ it?" he asked, starting to become very annoyed...

* * *

"WAH-!" Jay stared at the mass of terra firma covering the clearing where her tent and all her belongings had been, "Th-This is terrible!" she exclaimed, though she was still wobbling a little from fatigue and sickness, though this time, there was the added stress. "M-my mother's picture was in that tent!" she exclaimed, hurriedly starting forward, "_Mom-!_" she exclaimed, as she started to dig.

"B-Bennett-san-?" Kiku started, a little taken back, before he hurried after to stop her, "Bennett-san, please calm down-! You're not well...!" he called, pulling back a weakly struggling Juliana.

_Thank goodness Bennett-san is sick right now,_ he thought, though a bit guiltily as he pulled her away.

"B-But mom-! I have to save her!" she exclaimed as she continued to struggle.

_Mother-!_

"She could be in pain-!" she cried.

Kiku sighed, but forced Jay to turn and look at them, as Francis took her hands into his. "Jay..." the Frenchman called, pulling her attention to him.

"Let's come back when it's lighter out, oui? If there were another 'slide, and you got hurt... Do you not think that she would be in even _more_pain...?" he asked.

Kiku shot the man a thankful glance, as the girl started to calm down. "_Oui...?_" he asked, as the girl nodded.

"O-o...kay..." she said, before collapsing, surprising the two males as they had actually forgotten that she was ill -and, they really hadn't been expecting any of this to happen, either...

* * *

"...Jeune Kiku's gone to get some ice, now," Francis told her, "It's probably fatigue... You've been pushing yourself too hard," the Frenchman chided gently.

"I'm... really sorry..." she mumbled, "...again..." she murmured, not realizing she was talking out loud, as she sighed, mumbling to herself, "I... lost my home again...

"My 'castle'..." she thought, remembering how her mother had always called their little apartment their 'castle'...

Francis blinked, utterly surprised. _A...gain...?_ he thought, before sighing and sitting down, "Does it hurt,_ fille_ (little one)?" he asked softly.

"Nah... I've... been through worse..." she mumbled in answer, drowsy enough not to realize that she was talking to the Frenchman anymore.

"You poor child-!" the man blinked.

"... 'Come home... safe'..." she murmured, "Why... Why couldn't I have just told her that...?" she wondered, still unaware that she was speaking out loud...

But, as she hadn't really talked to anyone about her feeling since her mother's death, it felt good to finally get it off her chest...

"...?" Francis looked surprised but said nothing, silently urging her to go on -not that she noticed.

"That morning..." she murmured, "The morning Mom died...

"I... had mock SATs... so I stayed up all night studying... And I overslept..." she sighed. "That... was the only morning I hadn't told her to 'come home safe'...

"The only morning..." she mumbled, "I... always did... except... that once. I... After the accident, I considered dropping out, and just working full-time..." she mumbled, voice becoming softer, and softer as she spoke, "But mom would've said for me to go..."

_"You know, I only graduated from Middle School. I mean, sure, I got the GED, but... I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of that, y'know?_

_"So, I want you to get an education -have fun!" she grinned._

"She wanted a better life for me, and... She worked so hard... Yet I...

"I forgot to tell her to 'come home safe'. I didn't see her off when she left for work, and now she's gone, but...

"It's not too late...! Even with my grades, and my house being taken away again...

"I can still make it up to my mother..." she mumbled, sliding in an out of consciousness now.

_I may not be able to bring her back, but..._ "I... can live the life she wanted for me... She wanted me to finish school and go to college, so...

"I... will graduate...

"For her..." she sighed. _That's my goal..._

"This_..._ is no time to lose... to a fe...ver..." she mumbled, taking another shaky breath before her consciousness fled her at last.

"...Is she asleep...?" Francis turned to see Kiku in the doorway, a cold compress in hand.

"You were listening?" the Frenchman looked rather surprised.

"...Yes... I'm... surprised. She always seemed so carefree at school...

"You'd never imagine the life she's lived... It's... truly incredible," he told the other.

"...? _Incroyable?_ How so, ma cher?" Francis blinked curiously.

"..." Kiku seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh, "I think I'm spoiled..." he said at last, "Bennett-san's courage... I envy her," was all he said, but Francis understood, and smiled slightly.

"Well, you _are_ a bit spoiled, oui? But, you 'spirit' is different from jeune Jay's, remember. So, if you really do think that's '_incroyabl_e', then you don't honestly appreciate her~" he said airily.

"...You're right," Kiku sighed, getting up now. "Francis-san, would you mind taking care of her for a while...?" he asked, heading towards the door.

"Oui...?" Francis answered, a bit confused, "Don't tell me you're going to dig her things out alone, _s'il vous plait_?" he frowned, "It is _much_ too much for one person to do alone..."

At this, Kiku paused, and a small smile made its way to his features, "_Alone_...?" he asked, turning back, "Whoever said... I was going along...?" he asked, before shutting the door behind him and disappearing {**A/N**: Like teh Ninja he is! XD}

"...Be careful, ma cher..."

* * *

_"...Hey, Jules, you've got a fever again!" Rina sighed, patting her sick child's head, "You really shouldn't push yourself so hard!_

_"Remember Jay, you've got to always be yourself! Stay true to yourself, and do things at your own pace, okay?_

_"You... will_definitely_be able to catch up..._

_"One day._.."

But... Mom... This time... if I don't push myself a little...

I... will die alone!

I... don't want that...!

* * *

"Ngh..." Juliana blinked, peering blearily out of her rumpled sheets, hair completely mussed from sleep, as she covered a yawn, blinking a bit in tired confusion at her surroundings.

When she finally remembered what that had happened, she gasped, blushing a bright red.

_Oh no-! How could I fall asleep?_ she wondered frantically, shooting out of the futon, paling and blushing even brighter (if that were even possible) when she remembered everything.

_I-I have to dig mom out-!_ she thought almost spazztically -not even_realizing_ that she was still in the borrowed (and _definitely_ mussed now) kimono, and barefoot, in her haste to find the precious picture of her mother.

"Eh..." she stopped, blushing when the door slid open with a snap, and she came face to face with Kiku, a surprised look on his face and a hand up in a fist, as if about to knock, "Oh, er... K-Kiku-!"

"..." Kiku stared for about half a second, before he seemed to remember himself, greeting her with a small smile, "Good... morning, Bennett-san," he greeted, though the smile seemed perhaps just a _tad_ forced, "How- How are you feeling...?"

"Oh, er... G-Good Morning...!" she started, before noticing a picture frame that he was holding up.

"Ah- Here... your picture," he started, handing it over.

"Eh?" Jay blinked, accepting the picture with both hands, more than a little confused, until she realized that it was a picture of her mother,_the one that had been buried in the landslide_...

"It's important to you, is it not?" he asked, smiling warmly for a minute before holding up a few other things -bags, she realized, and with two or three more on the hardwood floor beside him. "The rest of your things should be in the bags," he explained, seeing her confused and questioning look. "but, could you please make sure of it...?"

"W-Wha-? How...? D-Did you did through that landslide all by yourself?" she exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers (at the very least), as she stared at the male before her.

The slim Asian just chuckled, amused, in response "Of course not, Bennett-san! That would be rather silly, wouldn't it?" he asked, smiling in an 'oh, you are so amusing, but such a child...' kind of indulgent look on his face that made her flush.

"Oh... b-but then... How...?"

Kiku just chuckled, smiling mysteriously, "That... would be a secret, Bennett-san~"

"Eh...?" Jay blinked, a faint trace of the previous blush still evident, as she held the picture to herself -almost reverently. "Oh... W-Well... Thank you-!" she managed at last, "Thank you so much... Kiku-!"

"Mn, It's quite alright," he said with a polite nod as he picked up the other bags, "I'll take you things upstairs then," he told her.

"Wha-?" She blinked, staring as Kiku began to walk away, but Kiku continued to talk as if he hadn't heard her.

"The house is a bit... _unclean_..." he started {**A/N**: *_cough*_ TOTAL understatement *_cough_*}, "But there's room for you to stay, here, if you wish..." he told her, before remembering something else, "Oh, you can stay here until the remodeling is complete," he clarified for the girl.

"Eh...? N-No! I-I couldn't possibly-!" she started.

"Don't worry, there _is_ a lock on the door..." Kiku assured her.

"Er, no... Th-That's not it! I meant-"

"Jeune Jay, you like housework, oui?" Francis asked, appearing suddenly behind the poor girl.

"Hiiih-! F-Francis-! G-Good morning...!" she jumped, startled as she turned around to face the other, feeling more than a bit confused at the moment.

"_Bonjour_, jeune Jay!" he smiled, greeting the frazzled looking girl, "You look particularly _magnifique _(magnificent) today~" he complimented, holding out a rose (thornless, of course, someone could hurt themselves on one of those things!), as Kiku sighed.

"Oh, uhm, er... Th-Thank you...?" she blinked, more than a little confused as she accepted the thornless rose.

{**A/N**:Ah, simple, simple Jay... She really should take a look down at what she's wearing~ XD}

"_De rien_, _de rien_, _mes dame_~" he smiled, "But yes, you liked to cook and clean, _pas vous _(do you not)_?_"

"O-Oh, uhm... yes, I... I do like housekeeping. Why...?" she asked, tilting her head to the side a little, not really getting why he would ask something like that.

And she did like to clean, and she was a good cook as well, though she'd probably never say so herself. Although, it might have been something of an 'OCD' (the cleaning) that she had been 'conditioned' into when she was younger, since her father had appreciated cleanliness, and the later, when he died, and her mother had to work all the time, it had just sort of become her responsibility, though her mother would help whenever possible.

And odd glint seemed to appear in Francis' eye as he took her hands into his own, "In that case,_ Welcome to the Bonnefoy House~~_!" he exclaimed, practically beaming into her face.

"E-Eh-?" she blinked, rather taken aback at the suddenty of it all. But Francis seemed not to notice as he chattered on.

"The room hasn't been used in a while, though, so it may be a bit stuffy~ Oh- We'll have to have a spare house-key made, won't we~?" he realized, murmuring the last part to himself, almost as a side-note. "Ah, jeune Kiku~ I'll help carry her things up, ma cher~" he exclaimed, positively beaming at Kiku.

"Oh, and Kiku? Do find something for her to wear, oui?" he added, calling back to the Asian, as he took practically all the bags, leaving Kiku with three of them. "Her clothes are a mess~~" he added, having forgotten that the washing machine had been broken, though he had meant to 'help' by putting it all through the wash earlier that morning.

"Eh-? B-But really! I couldn't-!" she started, calling after the blonde, "Having you give me a room on top of having taken care of me... it's too much! Really...!" she exclaimed. "I'd be causing you too much trouble-!" she spazzed.

Kiku sighed, "Bennett-san..." he called, catching the poor girl's attention, "_We_ are the ones asking you to say," he informed her, speaking a bit slowly so that she would have time to calm the turmoil in her mind, before going on. "You are not a bother," he made clear when she managed to calm down, though that didn't stop her from looking anxious, and opening her mouth to reject the idea once again. "Really," he continued, not giving her a chance to do so. "If we _didn't_ want you here, we wouldn't have asked," he continued calmly.

"B-but-!"

"Besides," he went on, "Where else would you go?" he asked her.

"Th-That's..." At that question, she seemed to give up, at last.

Kiku now smiled briefly at her, turning once again, "Well then, why don't I show you around, then?" he asked.

Somehow, the two had already ended up on the second floor. "O-Oh..." she blushed slightly, "Okay..."

"In that case... That would be my room... the restroom... the bath's down the hall that way... Ah-! And Francis-san's room is at the end of this one," he continued, before turning to face her, "I suggest you stay away from _his_ room," he deadpanned.

"Eh...?" she blinked at the sudden difference in expression.

"Trust me, Bennett-san, you do _not_ want to go in there," he continued.

"Oh... Okay," she agreed, sweating slightly, "And, uhm... I-I'll try not to be a bother, so..." she hesitated.

"Please...! Tell me any other house rules/customs I should know! I... I don't want to do anything that would-"

"..." Kiku sighed, "Bennett-san..." he started, after a moment's pause, effectively stopping her inane babbling before she embarrassed herself further.

"First of all, that wasn't a rule... or, really, a custom," he explained, "I just thought it would be best to warn you that it's... _unsafe_... to venture into that area," he told her, holding a hand up when she opened her mouth to say something, "And no, I do not mean as in physically unsafe..." he continued.

_Though the inside of his room_may_be a bit of a hazard-zone..._

"Secondly," he continued, "It's alright to just be yourself, Bennett-san. Be yourself and do things at your _own_ pace," he told her, "I can guarantee that you'll fit right in," he promised.

_"Remember, Jay, you've got to always be yourself..."_ her mother's words rang in her ears once again.

_Kiku... really is a mystery, isn't he...?_ she thought, before smiling shyly at the other.

"I-I'll do my best-! So... please... take good care of me-!" she exclaimed, bowing somewhat.

"_Etto _(er)_..._" Kiku sweat slightly, though he smiled at the girl, chuckling a bit. Like I said, Bennett-san...

_Just be yourself..._

* * *

**End Notes**: Whoot! Finished~~ xD At first, I was sort of starting to regret making my chapters around 10,000 words long (my goal per chapter), but then I realized that this really does allow me to give my chapters more substance, so 10,000 word mark stays~~!

Yay! That means more per update, so the wait'll hopefully be worth it!

Also, I started this mainly because I noticed that there was only one real Furuba x Hetalia Cross-Over up on Fanfiction, so I decided to put my own up, cuz not only did it seem interesting, but it was fun thinking up ideas.

This was after reading **Philore**-san's "World in a Basket" of course, so I could make sure none of my ideas clash, or look like they were stolen. So if something seems similar, the reason will probably be shown later -besides, I have to agree, a certain someone makes a perfect kyo~~ ;P so tsundere.

Ahem! So anyways, after much thought, I have managed to complete my first goal -to make sure that, other than the three things that are obviously similar, NOTHING will be completely the same! Yay! Which is why this went up, instead of staying in my files with the rest of the fanfictions I deem unworthy of Fanfiction yet. :P

So for those also reading Philore-san's "World in a Basket" my tale shall be very, very different, other than the most obvious. (It is NOT EnglandxOC! I'm telling you right now, in case you forgot!)

Moving on. I just couldn't help but make _two_ people (yes, TWO) 'Yuki' and two people as 'Kyo', not only due to the sheer number of characters I'll have to fit in and that they are just so suited to the characters, but I figured that this would work best if I start out a few characters at a time -I'm sure you're all having a hard enough time trying to remember who the OCs are! XD

For that though, I'll probably have a little list of profiles for the important OCs under here so you can differentiate. Well, it's not really a profile or anything, more like a basic (very basic) summary of the character.

Also, I hope some of you were able to notice a certain hint (I did try to make it more obvious during the revision) about who else will show up. He won't show up for a few chapters, at least, but he'll definitely be here! So keep a look out!

And for those able to correctly guess what character I speak of, kudos to you, smart (observant) peoples!

That's about it, really, after a bit more not-as-important generic stuff I'll put up the 'preview' (the original cuz I'm lazy like that), and then the profile list. Also, I'm thinking of making another Woruba things, like with Kiku one-shot in this Universe.

"Extraneous Files: The Woruba Tales" or something like that for side stories and one-shots and stuff that just (probably) won't fit here, since I am somewhat OCD and hate it when the chapter number and title/actual chapter number don't match up ;A; So yeah... onto the not-so-important-stuff-that-I-still-think-I-should -mention/just-feel-like-mentioning, then the Preview, then the profiles! I'll try to get this done before my break's over, so I can get chapter four (which is almost complete, dangnabit) up. I'm pretty proud of it so far~~

Now, off we go~!

**Word Count**: Originally 10, 655 but now 10,800! Still not counting non-story stuff. Yay~~!

**Rating**: T+ for Language, of course~~

And now that _that_'s over, onto the Preview!

* * *

**Chapter 02: Secret Preview**:

"...Kiku... You realize I was just kidding about _l'jeune fleur_... right?"

"..." Kiku said nothing as Francis seemed to 'magically appear' beside him. "You were practically 'jumping for joy' just now, though, weren't you?"

"Oui, oui, but... Kiku, are you sure it's alright for her to stay with us...? She's _une jeune fille_, you know..."

"...I don't think you have to worry, Francis-san... I'm sure it'll all be fine so long as she doesn't hug any of us," he said, before following Juliana into the room he had shown her to.

"..."

"Bennett-san! I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to open a window. It really is rather stuffy in here..." he informed her.

"Oh! Uhm, of course, go ahead!" she exclaimed. She had already changed into a plain white shirt, and some extra pants that Kiku never wore ("European clothes are a bit troublesome, so I don't really wear these."), that were only just slightly too big on her, but didn't really look anything out of the ordinary.

_Somehow... this all... feels like a dream... It's almost too good to be true-!_ she thought, looking around the room a bit now that she was clean, and dressed, absently wondering where Kiku's parents were, and why he was living with Francis -not only did they seem to be of different nationalities altogether (not including American, cuz, y'know, America _is _known as the world's largest Mixing Bowl...), but they really weren't anything alike.

_I... really hope my stay here doesn't cause them too much troubl-_ she started to think, when, all of a sudden, the roof crashed in behind her.

"Eek-!" She screamed.

"Bennett-san-!" Kiku called, whirling around as soon as he heard the explosion.

"Mon _dieu_-!" Francis seemed to pale, barely able to take a step forward at the sudden 'cave-in', "Jeune Jay, are you alright?" he exclaimed.

"Y-Yes-! But...!"

"_Hah!_ I finally found it-! Now then... Are you ready for me to break your damn neck...?"

* * *

Just who is this stranger? And just why are our favorite... okay, maybe not, er... Ah! _Lovable!_

And just why are our _lovable_ Hetalia characters being threatened? Just who _is_ being threatened anyways...?

Find out! Next time! On...

**Woruba**: World's Basket...!

* * *

**Extra Notes**: And... cut! End of dramatics. =P And onto the Mini OC Profiles...!

~~ Murasaki Argenteria; Note End [12/18/2011]

* * *

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS (Those that are important and mentioned, that is):

**Juliana Martina Bennett:** Our beloved "Tohru Honda" character. Just your not-so-average/typical teenage girl. Juliana prefers to be called Jay and will answer to "Jules" and sadly, just about anything else that you wanna call her, she's that simple a character. Still, what she lacks in grace and intelligence can be made up for by her sweet, somewhat-ditzy, yet still logical (somehow) personality. She's not stupid, really, she's not.

Jay has onyx-hair that was inherited from her mother, and that falls just to where her shoulder-blades end, and has large grey-ish brown eyes, that seem a bit of a fusion from both her mother and father. Still, her eyesight's pretty good though. At least she won't be worrying about blindness anytime soon!

**Morrissa Lumina Margrett:** Our story's "Arisa Uotani" character. An Ex-Ganstress with a rather foul mouth that cares deeply for her friends (best friends, at any rate). She is not above extortion and falling back into her Gangstress ways, though she tries to curb those tendencies -at least in front of Jay, as she knows the sweetheart would only fret and worry. She is, unfortunately, quite good at gathering Gossip, and has been secretly called the "Gossiping Gangstress Queen"...not that she, surprisngly, knows that.

Morissa has medium-length maroon (deep reddish-brown) hair that falls just past her shoulders, and is typically grinning, scowling, or smirking, one of the three. Her part-russian ancestry is quite apparent due to her nearly frost-white skin and her preference to warm, darker colors, though her eyes are a blue-green color that sometimes seem greyish-green when she's angry enough.

**Rei Ryuuzaki:** The story's "Saki Hanajima". A true blue 'psychic' who's usually rather apathetic and quiet in personality. Despite rumors, she, not Morrissa, is the one with the actual sadistic streak. Still, it only shows when she feels her 'friends' are in danger. It's not quite sure whether she would deliberately use her abilities to harm anyone yet, but no one wants to risk it, so her friends have yet to really be 'threatened'. She, surprisingly, has quite a sweet tooth, though, and can often be seen eating some sort of snack, whether chips or pocky or some other sweet will depend.

Surprisingly enough, Rei has silver-ish platinum-blonde hair despite her very asian roots. Her family has speculated that it may have been a dormant gene and there may have been a european ancestor somewhere far back, but considering that her hair had not originally been silver, it was decided that it probably had more to do with her abilities than roots -still, that is the excuse the family has decided to use to explain, either that or that the family is prone to have a generation now and then whose hair matures quickly enough for their hair to grey/whiten quite early. Her eyes, unsurprisngly, are grey as well, though they had always had a bit of a grey-ish-black tinge so it wasn't quite as surprising.

**Rina Bennett:** Our "Kyoko (tohru's mom) Honda" character. She is currently deceased, and thus not much is specified at the moment. She is an asian (what kind won't be revealed yet for dramatic effect) that fell in love with a european, and thus came to America carrying the not-yet born Jay at the time. Juliana is actually partially named after her Grandmother (Martina Bennett), while her father has not yet been introduced into the story. There is mystery shrouding her past, though, and there _is_ a reason why Morrissa respects her, so much. Rina is actually a nickname rather than her full name, but that won't be revealed until later, along with her maiden name.

She had long, obsidian black hair (darker black than onyx for those that don't know how to differentiate), and deep brown, dark chocolate colored irises. She was said to be quite the beauty despite her unsavory past when she was alive...

(That's it! Please remember to rate/review on your way out, and stay tuned for the next segment. Thanks! XD)


	3. 2 Secret

**Woruba**: World's Basket!

_by_ Murasaki Argenteria

* * *

Kiku didn't react, as Francis seemed to 'magically appear' beside him.

The Frenchman walked past the _Japonais_, leaning against the frame of the closed door, arms crossed as the two waited for Juliana to finish changing into the spare, unused clothes that Kiku was lending her.

Both were silent for the most part, but, "...Kiku... You _do_ realize I was just kidding about _l'jeune fleur_... oui?"

"..." the young Japanese said nothing for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak, a slight, condescending look on his face.

"You were practically 'jumping for joy' just now, though, were you not, Francis-san?" He asked dryly.

"Heh~ Oui oui," the blonde agreed, nodding and ignoring the slight before continuing on, unnaturally serious for once. "But... Kiku, are you sure it's alright for her to stay with us...? She _is_ _une jeune fille_, you know..." he reminded the other, frowning slightly.

"...I don't think you have to worry, Francis-san... I'm sure it'll all be fine so long as she doesn't hug any of us," he assured the other man, as Juliana came out, and they led the girl into the room they would be giving her.

"..." Neither talked much after that.

"Ah, Bennett-san," Kiku called after a while, smiling slightly at the girl, as they entered the room, "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to open a window. It really _is_ rather stuffy in here..." he explained.

"Oh! Uhm, of course, go ahead!" she exclaimed. It _was_ their house, after all, and she was only a guest.

She currently wore a plain, white short-sleeved, button-up shirt that was only a _little_ too big for her, and some extra pants that Kiku apparently never wore ("European clothes are a bit troublesome, so I don't really like to wear them that often," he had told her. "Eh? Really?" "Yes," he had answered with a smile, "Yet they _still_ insist on sending them to me..." he muttered afterward. "...?" Luckily for Kiku, Jay hadn't seemed to have caught any of the last segment of his little 'speech').

Although, thankfully, it didn't look too weird on her. It really wasn't what she'd normally wear, but at least no one would question it. (_Thank goodness they don't have any dresses..._)

It would have been a lot weirder if she had started wearing _really_ girly skirts and/or dresses... (Not to say that she never wore them... on occasion... {As proven in Chapter One})

_Somehow, this... all feels like a _dream_..._

_It's almost too good to be true-!_ she thought, looking around the room a bit now that she was clean, and dressed, absently wondering where Kiku's parents were, and _why_ he was living with Francis. After all, not only did they seem to be of different nationalities altogether (not including American, of course, 'cuz, y'know, America _is _known as the world's largest Melting Pot...), but they _really_ weren't anything alike.

Well, as far as _she_ could tell anyways...

_I..._ really_ hope my stay here doesn't cause them too much troub-_ she started to think, when, all of a sudden, the roof crashed in behind her.

"Eek-!" She screamed.

"Bennett-san-!" Kiku called, whirling around as soon as he heard the explosion.

"Mon _dieu_-!" Francis seemed to pale, barely able to take a step forward at the sudden 'cave-in', "Jeune Jay, are you alright?(!)" he exclaimed.

"Y-Yes-! But...!" she started, staring up at the hole that was in the ceiling -had it been a quake or something? No, it couldn't be. Nothing had shaken...

Had it? Well, not as far as she could tell, anyways... Maybe she was still sick enough to not have noticed...? But, wait-! The others didn't seem to have noticed a quake, and THE HOLE WAS STILL THERE!

"_Hah!_ I've finally found you-!" A somewhat insane sounding chuckle made her look towards the still settling dust around the debris, while the other two seemed to stop and freeze.

It... _couldn't_ be... could it?

"Now then... Are you ready for me to break your damn neck, you bloody Frog?"

Jay's eyes widened when she saw the dust settle, and the blonde, green-eyed figure that stood there, grinning darkly, and rotating a shoulder as if stretching it.

Wait a second...

"C-" she started, causing the others to stop and look at her, "EEK~~! CATERPILLARS~~!" she screamed, causing the newcomer to stop and do a face-fault. "THERE'RE GIANT FUZZY CATERPILLARS ON HIS FACE-!(!)!(!)"

"_THEY'RE NOT GOD-DAMNED CATERPILLARS!_" he exclaimed, as Francis burst out laughing, and Kiku sighed, sweating slightly as he shook his head.

"KYAA! GET 'EM AWAY, GET 'EM AWAY~~!" she screamed, panicking now, as she ran around in circles, spazzing.

"GODDAMNIT WOMAN-!" the males sweat slightly as she flailed around like a headless chicken, screaming her head off. The blonde cursed, preparing to stalk towards her when she tripped on some of the debris.

"Eek-!" she squeaked, her screams were cut off rather effectively.

"Oh crap..." All three males paused, when she started falling backwards, and started forward a step or so to catch her. But, the newcomer, being the closest was the one to catch her, as Kiku froze, and Francis looked on with wide eyes, mouth agape as they watched what looked to be a scene in slow-motion. {Due to the adrenaline, of course~}

"-!" Jay shut her eyes, waiting for impact that never seemed to come, "Eh...?" she opened one eye, only to close it again, when a poof of smoke surrounded her.

"..." Kiku just sighed, shaking his head slightly.

_Oh,_ great_... _Kiku thought, feeling a headache coming on already, as Francis groaned, rubbing his face.

_Damned _'chivalrous gentleman'_... _he thought, shoulders slumping a bit, as he did.

How the _hell_ was he going to explain this to the girl? the Frenchman thought, sighing in a -sort of- defeated tone...

* * *

"..." When Jay finally opened her eyes again, she blinked, staring up at the hole in the ceiling.

_Eh...?_ She thought, feeling confused, though that it was a bit short-lived when she heard a rumble under her and felt...

_Fur_...? She froze, turning slowly, when she heard what sounded like a growl, coming face to face with...

A Lion Cub...

"Eh...?" she stared in shock, before the thought _really_ registered, and she stared back at the (adorably) glaring Lion cub. "EH~~~?(!)" she exclaimed.

"K-Kiku!" she exclaimed, _somehow_ managing to hold the Lion cub up to show the others, "Oh my gosh-! Kiku! Francis! Th-There's a wild Lion Cub in the room-!" she exclaimed.

"Er, Bennett-san... Please calm down..." Kiku sweat, as she started to panic.

"B-But what if it's wild and it's Mom or Dad is nearby and it comes in and-" she spazzed, dropping the (for _some_ unknown reason) sulking cub, as she flailed her arms around, not really able to think correctly, _or_realize that it was the other male who had dropped through the roof (for whatever currently unknown -to _her,_ anyways- reason) had disappeared -_or_ that he had turned into the Feline- as said cub slunk towards a corner, obviously sulking.

"..." Francis started to choke back laughter, eyes tearing, when he realized that she hadn't realized a rather _obvious_ aspect to all this...

But a sudden gasp made them all stop, as she seemed to realize something, and all three males froze.

"OH MY GOSH! WHAT IF IT ATE THAT PERSON WHO WAS HERE JUST A SECOND AGO?(!)" she exclaimed, panicking now, as Francis _really_ had to work hard to hold back the laughter (and failing a bit) now, as Jay ran over to the young Lion (it _looked_ to be around adolescence -not quite full Lion, but not really a cub, either), and grabbed the poor, surprised male by the shoulders, shaking it.

"PLEASE DON'T EAT PEOPLE, MR. LION-!" she exclaimed, eyes teary and panicked looking, "IT'S NOT GOOD TO EAT HUMANS-! D-DON'T WORRY, SIR! WE'LL SAVE YOU!" she cried into the lion's pried open (and, for whatever reason, _minty_-fresh) mouth, to the man whom she _believed_ to be within the Lion's stomach...

"Pft-! Ahahahaha~~!" Francis really started laughing this time, tears pouring out, as he pounded the walls, one arm clutching his stomach as he doubled over, he was laughing so much.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY, SIR FRANCIS!" she exclaimed, slipping back into the 'semi-polite' speech that her father used to speak, until Kiku placed a calm hand on her shoulder, sighing mentally.

"Er... Bennett-san..." he started, but she didn't seem to hear him, too concentrated on Francis, "_Bennett-san!_" he exclaimed, sweating.

"Eh-?" she blinked, turning to Kiku, surprised enough to forget about the lion for a moment.

"Bennett-san... Please, think for a minute..." he sweat, as she seemed to calm down -at least a _little_- before continuing, "Does the Lion _look_ like it would be able to fit a whole adolescent male in his body...?" he asked calmly.

"N-No..." she admitted sheepishly, blushing when she realized how crazy she must have looked (and sounded)...

No _wonder_ Francis was (still) laughing so hard...

Wait a second... she paused, when her brain seemed to start functioning correctly again (at _last_).

"B-but... if that person wasn't eaten by the Lion, th-then..."

The dots finally connected.

"EH~~~!" she exclaimed, surprising the others (and Francis enough that he stopped laughing to stare), "H-HE TURNED INTO A LION!" she exclaimed.

Ah... all the males in the room sweat at her (really) slow up-take.

_So slow..._ they thought.

_Wait..._ they all stopped, remembering -this meant...!

"OH MY GOSH-!" she started spazzing...

_Again_.

The boys sighed. Looked like the panic was going to start all over again...

"HE TURNED INTO A LION! OH NO!" she exclaimed, flailing and running again, as she realized what had happened.

"AH-! IS THIS BECAUSE I CRASHED INTO HIM?_ IT'S BECAUSE I CRASHED INTO HIM, ISN'T IT?(!)_" she exclaimed, spazzing (_again_). "DID I LAND ON THE WRONG PLACE _AND HE TURNED INTO A LION-?(!)_"

"Ah... _pas_... Well, _oui_... perhaps...?" Francis sweat, chuckling nervously as he -slowly- backed away from the girl that had suddenly seemed to go insane, not really quite sure what to say.

"..." Kiku just sighed, rubbing his temples, as he tried to figure what he should do in this kind of situation...

"W-We have to get him to the hospital! He needs medical attention-!(!)" she exclaimed -finally ending her useless flailing- as she ran over to the Lion and started drag it towards the door.

Needless to say, the Lion was _not_ very happy, and was trying to thwart her (_without_ harming her of course, it was still a gentleman... er... _lion_) 'plot' to take him to the '_bloody hospital_'.

Unfortunately, none of them noticed a loose piece of hardwood that was teetering precariously on the edge of the opening in the roof, until it finally fell and hit the unfortunate female in the head...

"Jeune Jay-!" "Bennett-san!" both (human) males exclaimed at once, taking a step forward as she fell towards them.

"Ah..." the two aforementioned males sweat, as she landed in their arms, and they remembered 'that'.

_Poof_. Another 'cloud' appeared...

"..." She stared blankly at the two animals before her for a while, shock written all over her features, as she just sat there, gaping.

To say that she was surprised when the two in front of her turned into animals as well, was...

Well...

* * *

...Outside the Bonnefoy house...

The mailman carefully stopped his LLV {As it's apparently called... (ask/blame Wiki)} in front of the lawn.

At first glance, there really wasn't a driveway for the house, but, hidden near the side of the house, was a small, uncommonly used path that had been paved just for the Mail vehicles, after the first few complained of having to walk up the _entire mountain_ just to deliver the daily letters.

Not to mention how much time was consumed...

Thankfully, the man living there was kind enough as to have agreed to build a small path just for postal services, seeing as the house _was_pretty much surrounded by vegetation and whatnot, with no paths other than trails that one really couldn't drive on...

Now, back to the mailman:

He hummed rather cheerfully as he went around back to retrieve a few parcels and letters for the resident, and walked up to the front, pressing the doorbell (since he _did_ have a package)...

He rather liked his route, since the people living in the house here were rather nice, and always tipped him at least once a week -or whenever he had any packages.

"...? Mr. Bonnefoy...?" the man called after the second ring produced no answer. "Hello?" he called, a bit confused when no one seemed to appear on the third ring.

Odd, he was usually here around this time of day...

"...Hmn?" He blinked, when the sound of feet pounding down a hall met his ears. What the...? So there _was_ someone there! he thought, as he patiently waited for the door to open.

Maybe he had woken up late? he thought, starting to feel a little bad now...

But, to say he was startled when the one who opened the door started yelling in his face (something about animals), and wasn't even a _guy_...

Well, one could probably picture how surprised the poor man looked.

"Ah, hel...lo...?" he blinked, staring at the wide-eyed girl that appeared before him.

"THEY'RE ALL ANIMALS-!(!)!" she exclaimed, somehow holding what looked like a _very_ large cat (...Lion...?), and two odd birds (_Was that a Rooster and a_ Crane_...?_ the man thought, startled, though he didn't really think much of it -the people at the house _did_ have a lot of money, after all)...

"Er... Y-Yes...?" he blinked, a bit taken back, "Those... _are_ animals..." he said slowly, backing away a step, "Does Mr. Bonnefoy have pets now...?" he asked, sweating slightly -he really _could_ see the eccentric (and rather theatrical) man keeping such an odd choice of animals, though the Lion _did_ kind of unnerve him...

"Eh? N-No... that's not..." Jay started, before trailing off, sweating when she realized how insane she must've sounded.

"In any case... I have mail for Mr. Bonne...foy...?" he blinked, when he felt something claw his pant-leg, and looked down to see...

It was the rooster...

Holding a five-dollar bill (in its beak).

"Aha... What a smart bird!" he laughed, bending down to accept the tip, "Thank you!" he grinned, as the (odd) onyx-haired girl accepted the packages, and he left. He _was_ a bit curious about the girl though...

_Does Mr. Bonnefoy have a niece...?_ he wondered, before shrugging it off, as he drove off, _Eh, maybe they finally got someone to clean around the house...?_ he thought, having been in the sad excuse for a house (sad in the fact that half the rooms he had seen in the first floor were completely _buried_ in rubbish) before, since he had been given permission to enter the house on occasion.

"Eh..." Jay just slumped down slightly, her mind in turmoil as she felt her legs give out, still holding the mail and packages, as she wondered if, perhaps, she was finally starting to go insane...

"**Great! How the ****_bloody_**** hell are we going to explain this?**" a somewhat-familiar voice made her turn around, and stare at the animals in shock.

"**Don't you ****_dare_**** try to pin this on ****_me_****, ****_idiote!_**** You ****_are_**** the one who got us all into this ****_mess afreux_****-!**" the Rooster glared at the Lion, who's hackles seemed to be up, hissing at said Rooster, as the Crane seemed_sigh_ on the sidelines.

_Th-They... can talk-!_ she thought, starting to _really_ think she was going mental. First all that good luck, then that person falling through the roof, and _then_ all of them turning into animals-!(!)

When the rooster saw her look, he crowed, though, judging by her look, she didn't seem to buy it, having_ just _seen -_and_ heard- them talking...

Besides, they didn't really want her to think she was insane (although, she just _might_ be with the way her thought-process worked, a certain male thought)...

Well, at least, not when it was probably _their_ fault anyways. They _were_quite 'different' from normal people after all...

"..." The crane sighed, sounding remarkably like Kiku, for all that it was white, with a black lower-body, and black that went from its neck all the way up to its beak, and a red 'crow', almost like a cap.

"**...I really don't think this is working...**" it said (_Yup_, definitely_ Kiku..._she thought absently), as it stepped between the two, forcing them to stop arguing, "She's already seen -_and_ heard- us," he pointed out.

"**We might as well tell her before she starts to think she's gone mad,**" he pointed out.

"**_..._**" Both feuding animals exchanged a look and sighed, forcing themselves to calm down.

"**Very well...**" the Lion said grudgingly, as the Rooster ruffled its feathers, settling down.

"**...Alright, jeune Kiku,**" it -_he_- sighed.

"**...**" The animals turned to Jay, who jumped slightly, surprised.

"Ah..." she blinked, sweating slightly as they continued to stare at each other.

"**Bennett-san... I know that this may be hard to believe, but...**

"**We are the reincarnated personifications of the World's Nations**," he told her, "**We are basically cursed to become our National animals when our bodies become weak for whatever reason -or we come in contact with the opposite genders. And, since there are so many nations in this world, you can probably guess that there are many of us who are cursed with this...****_ability_****...**" he went on.

"**As you can probably see, I am possessed by the National Animal of Japan -the Red-Crowned Crane; while Francis-san is possessed by the Gallic Rooster, the National Animal of France**," he continued, "**And Arthur-san is possessed by the Lion -the National Animal of Britain...**"

"Oh..." Her eyes widened, as Kiku went on, neither Lion nor Rooster were really willing to look her in the face as he spoke, though. Francis stared steadily down at the ground, while Arthur -apparently England- glared at a wall to the side.

"**For thousands of years, those of our... 'family' and 'lineage' have been cursed with these... 'differences'.**

"**We don't really have any 'special powers' or anything, but...-?**" Kiku was startled when he was suddenly picked up and hugged, having averted his eyes after a while as well.

"...I'm... so sorry..." she cried, surprising them all, as she gathered them all in a warm hug, tears in her eyes, "I... didn't know...!" she sniffled.

"**...Bennett-san...**" "**-Jeune Jay...**" "**...**" all three males stared at her teary-eyed face, eyes softening at the girl who seemed to care so much about them...

"**_._****.. ****_Ahem-!_**" one of the three coughed after a while, making her let go, blushing a bit.

"S-Sorry-!" she exclaimed, as she blushed, a little embarrassed, "I'm so sorry-! I don't know... Well, I _do_ know, but... I-Uhm, er...!" she sweat, starting to turn quite red.

**_Haha... Cute_**_,_ Francis chuckled, though it sounded more like a cluck since he really wasn't talking out loud.

"**...**" Both Lion and Crane gave him a 'look' that basically made one think that they were both calling him some form of 'pervert' in their minds.

Francis didn't seem to notice. "**In any case, jeune Jay,**" Francis picked up a bit where Kiku had left off, catching her attention again, "**We ****_do_****change back into humans after a while, but...**"

"Eh...?" she blinked, as a poof a smoke appeared again, and gasped, blushing brighter than a tomato when she saw their current state. "-!"

"We're usually completely naked, ma cherie~" he said rather cheerfully -in fact, perhaps a bit _too_ cheerfully, as he help up another {_Where the hell do those things keep coming from-?(!)_} rose -from out of seemingly nowhere- to his lips.

"EEK-!" she screamed, covering her eyes and turning away as soon as she saw a hint of their... well, their _nudity_, and blushing even brighter than she had before (if that were even _possible_)...

* * *

"Ah, _desole, desolee_," Francis laughed, apologizing more sincerely now that they were all dressed. "We did not mean to _d'exposer_ anything you were not ready to see, jeune Jay," he smiled, "Er... Feeling a little better now, _ma cherie?_"

"I...I'm getting there..." she answered, still feeling a little frazzled and incredulous that this sort of thing would actually happen in real life...

"..." Kiku, meanwhile, said nothing, studying all the people now gathered in the room where he and Francis had first seen her the day before.

Arthur was still sulking on the patio, leaning against the screen-door, while Juliana seemed to be gathering herself to make sense of all that had happened, and Francis was trying to help...

Key word: Trying.

"Are you sure you're feeling better, jeune Jay? You still seem a bit... ah..._incarnat_," he admitted, as he compared her color to the rose in his hand, "Oui, incarnat," he decided.

"..." This only made Jay flush more.

Kiku sighed, "Stop teasing her, Francis-san. I'm sure she's been 'upset' enough..." he continued, not quite able to find a good word to use.

Shocked? Disgusted? Surprised...? Just what word _could_ be correctly used in this case...? He wondered.

"Oh, _fort ainsi_," Francis seemed to pout, "I'll stop... spoilsport..." he muttered under his breath.

"Eh...?" she finally seemed to realize that she was being teased. "Th-That's not nice, Mr. Bonnefoy!" she huffed slightly, upset.

"Non, non, mes chere! You must call me _Francis_, oui?" he chided.

"Oh... M-my apologies... Francis..."

Said Frenchman beamed, "Now that that's settled~~ How would you like to know a little _secret_~?" he asked, grinning cheerfully.

"Eh? A S-Secret...?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Oui, ma chere~ A secret. You know jeune Arthur over there...?" he asked, pointing at the sulking blonde with his rose.

"Y-Yes...?" she gulped, not quite sure whether she should really be listening to this.

"_He_ is Angleterre -_England_," Francis revealed.

"E-Eh?" Jay's eyes widened, "R-Really?" she exclaimed, "Wow! W-what's... he like...?" she asked, getting shy again.

Francis chuckled, "Well..." he started, raising his voice loud enough so that the others could hear as well (thus causing Kiku to sigh and shake his head and the Frenchman's stupidity, since he had a feeling he knew where this would be going).

"He is..." he continued.

"H-He is...?" Jay blinked, feeling the anticipation build up until...

"_Ill-tempered_, easily drunk, _delusional_," he started, going on, as he aimed another mental 'arrow' loose at the Green-eyed man.

"...-!" Every arrow seemed to hit it's mark as he seemed to tremble with the 'weight', as Francis was _still_ going on...

"Eh...?" Jay was already quite over-whelmed by the already rather long list -yet Francis _still _showed no sign of stopping.

In fact, he didn't even seem half-way through...

"-he's got those _giant_ sorry excuses for eye-brows, and he-" he continued.

"ARGH-! THAT'S ENOUGH YOU BLOODY FROG! I AM GOING TO _BREAK YOUR NECK_ RIGHT HERE AND NOW, YOU WANKER!" Arthur exclaimed, shooting out of his seat, as Francis smirked.

"Fufu~ It is only because it's all true, _Angleterre_~ Is it not~?" he retorted, arms crossed.

"Eh... EH?(!)" Jay panicked a bit, not sure what to do now, as she looked from one to the other, than to Kiku.

"Wh-What should we do?" she exclaimed, thinking that it was her fault in some way, as Kiku sighed.

"It's alright Bennett-san..." he assured Jay.

"B-but-!" she started.

"It's alright," he repeated firmly, "because, they do this every time they meet," he explained, though this didn't seem to reassure the girl in any way.

"Besides..." he went on, before Jay could say anything, "It'll probably be..."

"...?" Jay tilted her head slightly, as she watched Kiku, his eyes trained on the two, from his place against the wall.

Francis was smirking, as he jumped back, away from Arthur's roundhouse kick, while the latter scowled.

"It'll be...?" she asked, following his line of sight to the spectacular display before her.

"Arthur-san's win," he said, closing his eyes, as the two exchanged decisive blows.

"It seems... you... have gotten a bit better, oui? _Angle...terre..._" Francis winced as he was thrown into the wall, while the only sign of injury that Arthur showed was a slight scratch on his cheek.

"Hmph, and _you_ are still weak, _Frog_," he spat, scowling still, as he started to relax his muscles.

_Again_. Jay didn't need to hear it, but the silent message -the confidence in his own answer that only helped to prove just how _strong_ he believed the latter to be.

"W-Wow..." she breathed, eyes wide...

England... really _was_ strong...

"That was so cool-!" she exclaimed, eyes shining, as Kiku sighed, and Arthur turned away with a 'hmph', although, not without the telltale rosy tint on his cheeks.

"Th-That was _nothing_..." he mumbled.

To the side, Francis pouted, feeling left out. Kiku sighed. "Please don't destroy the house..." he sighed, acting as the more mature of the trio, "It may not be mine, but Francis-san... isn't it _yours_...?" he pointed out.

"..._Sacrebleu_-!" Francis paled, "It_ is_ my house!" he cursed the fact that he had not thought to take the fight _outside_ like he probably should have...

"_Merde_..." he groaned.

His poor house-!

"Tche," Arthur tsked, "Serves you right..." he grumbled, crossing his arms, clearly in a rather defiant mood.

"...Arthur-san..." Kiku started.

"What...?" he asked a bit suspiciously, twitching slightly -he had a feeling he knew what was coming next...

"Wouldn't a _gentleman_ do his part to 'clean up' a mess he made...?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"Wha-? He started it!" he exclaimed, pointing to Francis.

"...Ah, I see, so you _aren't_ a gentleman. Pity...

"And you broke the roof of the room that Bennett-san was going to stay in... A _gentleman_ wouldn't allow a _lady_ to live under those conditions, now would he...?" he asked, a fake smile plastered on his face, as he tilted his head _just_ enough to look 'innocent'.

"Bloody- _FINE!_ I'LL FIX THE DAMN ROOF!" he exclaimed, grumbling the whole was, as he made his way out of the room.

"..._Arigato_, Arthur-san," Kiku smiled.

_K-Kiku..._ Jay sweat, _The 'Prince'..._

_You're... actually very _cunning_, aren't you...?_ she thought, sweating, as she watched him direct the Englishman to where they kept the tools, when the blonde stopped halfway to ask where the 'bloody hell' they kept them, so he could 'keep his word' and fix the 'bloody roof'...

_No _wonder_ he's got top grades at school..._ she thought, as he seemed to -discreetly- order the two (obviously older) men to do as he 'asked'...

"Wait..." she stopped, causing the others to stop and look over at her. "School...

"AAAH-!" she exclaimed, surprising them all, "I'M GOING TO BE LATE-!(!)" she panicked.

"Eh? School...?" the others blinked, before their eyes all trailed over to the clock on the wall...

"...W-We have to hurry!" exclaimed Kiku, paling when he saw what time it was, as the two raced around the house, gathering their things.

There was _no_ way in all six hells he was going to break his 'perfect record' because of something as idiotic as what had happened just a little while ago...

"Eek-! H-Has anyone seen my bag?" she exclaimed, voice muffled slightly by the walls.

"You left it in your room, Bennett-san!" Kiku called back, as they raced to their rooms to grab their bags.

"I-I'm so sorry about this -but I _really_ have to get to school now!" she exclaimed, bowing in apology before Francis who just laughed, once they had come out of their respective rooms.

"Oui, oui, I understand, jeune Jay," Francis smiled at the flustered looking girl, not even bothering to tease her this time.

"You _did_ make a promise to _votre mere_, did you not?"

"Y-Yes-!" she exclaimed.

"But... you know... for my part..."

"Eh?" Jay blinked at his serious expression.

"I must tell _that_ person -the head of our little 'family'- what's happened here, you understand," he asked, making Kiku stop, halfway through putting his backpack on.

"The family 'secret' has been revealed, after all."

"..." Jay was quiet for a moment, "The head of the family... He must be a very important person, mustn't he...?" she mused, smiling up at the Frenchman, "Of course! I understand," she nodded, "I truly am sorry for the trouble," she said once again, bowing.

"..." Francis blinked, a little surprised that she could still pull an expression like that out, "Not at all..."

"Well then, I'll be going now!" she smiled, before heading towards the front of the house, where her shoes still lay.

"... You're quite talkative today, aren't you, Francis-san...?" Kiku asked, eyes narrowing as he watched the girl walk away. "You told her quite a bit about us..."

Francis smiled, "_Vous croyez?_ Well, did _you_ not say just as much, cher...?" the Frenchman pointed out.

"...You plan on having her memories erased, don't you...?" Kiku asked a bit frostily, eyes cold.

"Just like _that_ time..."

Francis sighed, "_I_ plan nothing, ma cher~" he said airily, "Besides, _that_time was because there were too many people involved, _s'il n'y avait_...?" he retorted, "We had _no choice_. You understand, do you not, jeune Kiku...?"

"..." Kiku said nothing for a moment, before he finally slipped the backpack on, "I shall be leaving as well now.

"Please remember to have the house fixed soon," he said at last, before walking out.

"Oui, oui, _monsieur_ Kiku," he smirked slightly, "It seems that you've become the 'young master' here, have you not...?" he asked, though it was to thin air, seeing as Kiku was probably already out of the house by now.

"..." Francis dropped his smile, "But... whether _that_ will happen or not...

"We shall have to see, _n'est-ce pas_...?"

"..." There was a bit of silence, as he just sat there, laying against the wall he had been thrown into, holding his left arm, since he _had_ sprained it.

He hadn't come away from the 'fight' unscathed after all... He _never_ did.

"...What the bloody hell was that all about...?" Arthur muttered, carrying a tool kit and some lumber from the backyard as he walked past the otherwise empty room.

Francis smiled, "Pft- Nothing at all, Angleterre~ But, besides_ that_, if you have time to worry about moi, shouldn't you be getting to work?" he smirked, making an obnoxious 'shoo, away with you' motion with his hands, deliberately trying to piss the poor brit off.

"What the- _WHO THE FUCK WOULD WORRY ABOUT YOU, IDIOT!_ AND WHO THE _BLOODY HELL_ SAID I WAS WORRIED ANYWAYS-?(!)" he exclaimed, cursing all the way as he stomped up the stairs to fix the roof, "IN ANY CASE, I AM _NOT_ FIXING THE BLOODY WALL! DO IT YOURSELF, STUPID FROG!" he yelled again, halfway up.

"...Of course," Francis chuckled quietly, unmoving from his spot as he sighed.

He honestly hoped that it would not come to 'that', though...

* * *

"Wha~~t? You forgot to do the laundry...?(!)" Morrissa stared at her in disbelief, "How the _hell_ did that happen?" she asked.

Juliana almost never forgot things like _that_.

She sighed, though -still, she _could_ kind of see her forgetting, though...

"So _that_'s why you're not wearing your normal clothes..." she sighed, as Rei kept silent.

"Ahaha... Yeah..." she laughed sheepishly, as they walked.

"Hah, bet she just doesn't even have the _power_ to do that..." a random girl muttered as she passed the trio.

"..." Rei's eyes narrowed as she gave the girl (who was easily identified as one of the Kiku fanclub members) an icy 'glare' (it was more of a stare, for her though), and calmly chased the suddenly terrified girl down the hall.

"...Those damn суки..." Rissa glared after the girl as well, as Rei came back.

"Th-Thanks, Rei," Jay smiled when the other returned, sweating a bit. _I can't tell them that it's true, either..._

_They'd have a fit..!_ she thought.

_Besides, I really should start cleaning Mr. Bonnefoy's house as soon as I can -it's a good excuse, too..._

_Although... Rissa... Rei... I'm really sorry about having to lie to you...!_ she thought, mentally praying for forgiveness from her friends seeing as if she did so out loud, it would become obvious that she was hiding something, and she _really_ didn't want to have to go into that at the moment...

"Well, the 'prince' _was_ late today as well, I heard," the silver haired girl pointed out as the girls walked. "It's not much of a wonder that they'd be suspicious," she continued, munching on some pocky, that she passed around to the other two.

"Hmn," Morrissa said nothing, accepting the box from Jay, and taking one, before passing it back to Rei as they reached the 'split' where she and Jay would be going to Phys Ed, while Rei went to Tech.

Jay said nothing as they walked, but nibbled at her strawberry-flavored pocky, as they stopped, "Ah-!" she gasped after a moment of silence.

"...?" the two other stopped, turning back when they noticed that she had stopped a bit earlier.

"Oh my gosh-! I forgot my notebook!" she exclaimed. She had been working on some math while they had been eating during lunch, and she had just realized that she had left it in the CE classroom (where they also spent their lunch period).

"D'you want me t'go with you?" Rissa asked, as Rei waited patiently, nodding in agreement with the other since the question applied to her as well.

"N-No, I don't want either of you to be late," she said, "I'll just get a pass from Mrs. Guerralupi. I doubt she'd be willing to give you one, though..." she sweat, seeing as she really didn't seem to like Rissa -not that she _helped_ in any way, when she taunted the ex-military teacher...

"Tche. It's true," she grumbled, as Rei nodded.

"I'll just wait in the Locker Room then," she promised.

"Eh? But... if you're late..." she frowned.

"We've got track today, so we're just walking anyways," she told the other girl.

"Oh, really?" she asked, blinking. It really never ceased to amaze her how the other two would know things beforehand. Although Rei's was due to her 'psychic ability', while Rissa was just good at 'gathering intel', as one might mildly put it -And no, she was _not _a 'gossip' in any way...

Well... Okay, maybe a _little_...

"Yeah," Rissa nodded.

"In that case, I'll be back as soon as I can, ok?" she smiled, waving as she headed back towards the CE room.

"Hurry it up, okay?" Rissa ordered, "It's boring when you're not there!" she called to the girl as she ran off.

"Okay~!" she called back, waving back at her two friends.

"...Something's off..." Rei murmured, once Rissa had left, as she watched Jay go.

"..." She shook it off when the minute-bell rang, though {my school has one of those, and it's pretty useful though confusing sometimes. XD I'm just gonna say they have one here too, since it works out the best for the story. XD}, and headed towards her tech class.

Oh well, she thought. She could always figure it out later...

* * *

"Whew! Thank goodness Mrs. Guerralupi likes me..." she sighed, as she walked out into the empty halls from the CE room, notebook in hand, and bag slung over her shoulder.

"...Bennett-san," a familiar voice made her paused, though she jumped a bit at the sudden appearance of the School's 'Prince'.

"Eek-! O-Oh, Kiku, it's-it's only you..." she sighed, one hand held up to her rapidly beating heart, as she turned to see the onyx-haired boy.

"...My apologies, I did not mean to startle you..." Kiku bowed his head a little.

"A-Oh no! I was just surprised, is all," she said, waving her free hand, since the other was clutching her math notebook. "So, uhm, what brings you here?" she asked, "Oh! Uhm, I-I'm not skipping class or anything! I just forgot my notebook, and-!" she started when she realized what things must've looked in her current situation.

Kiku chuckled, "It's quite alright, Bennett-san. I know you wouldn't do such a thing," he said, "As for myself, I have some SGO work to do," he explained.

"O-Oh... right," she laughed sheepishly, "I forgot... Kiku, you're the SGO President, aren't you?" she smiled.

"That is correct" he said, smiling back briefly, "But, while we're both here -and alone," he added, as they started walking towards their destination, "You... didn't tell anyone, did you? About 'that'...?" he asked.

"Eh-? Oh, no! I-I didn't!" she exclaimed, surprising the Japanese male, "I'm so sorry! Am I making you {she means him and the family in general -or, at least, Kiku, Francis, and Arthur} nervous? I-I'm a liability, aren't I...?" she asked, feeling depressed all of a sudden.

"Eh? No, that's not what-" Kiku started, surprised, though she didn't seem to notice.

"I'm sorry! But, I would _never_ tell anyone! My mom -mother- always told me that if someone trusts you with a secret, you should keep it! She always said that gossiping as bad, and that it's usually wrong!" she exclaimed.

"Er, no... Bennett-san..." he was sweating now.

Did she _really_ think all that...? he wondered absently, as she continued on.

"I swear! I'll never breathe a word about it to anyone! I'll sign my name in blood or cut my arm or anything you want!" she promised.

"No... I- That's not..." Kiku tried to interject.

"I'm sure that's what my mother did back 'then', anyways, so-!" she exclaimed.

"B-Bennett-san!" Kiku exclaimed, catching her attention.

"Eh?" she blinked, stopping mid-panic attack. (She seemed to have those a lot, lately.)

"I was trying to say.. that wasn't what I meant," he told her, sweating._Though... just what kind of person _was_ her mother, anyways...?_ he couldn't help but wonder.

"Huh?" she blinked, startled, when Kiku bowed.

"Bennett-san... You're going to all this trouble just to keep our secret, but..." his eyes softened with worry. "I'm... afraid that it just may not be enough..." he said. "I'm sorry-!" he continued.

"Eh?"

"But... your memories may need to be erased..." he said with a sigh, before straightening again, this time, looking straight into her surprised eyes for just a moment before going on. "I say 'erased', but... It's really more like 'hypnosis', though," he frowned.

"You see... a long time ago, our secret got out... Just as it did today," he explained, his eyes unwavering as he stared into her wide eyes.

"I was in the second grade when it happened. We were all playing in the garden of the main house, when a girl got carried away and hugged me.

"It caused such a commotion that they had to suppress the memories of all those that had been present," he exclaimed, remembering the event like it had been yesterday.

.

_"Kami-_sama_... Am I... truly so strange that we must erase people's memories to hide it...?" a young Kiku asked shyly. The head of the house had always had a sort of 'air' around him that made the small boy quite nervous._

_"...Yes, you are strange," the mysterious male said after a moment, steel eyes cold and unmoving as they spoke._

_"Isn't it odd for a boy to turn into a bird?" the older male asked. "If normal people knew about your secret, they'd be_ disgusted_, Kiku. They would be sickened by it and stay away from you, and then you'd be forced to live alone -to be singled out and bullied by _them._  
_.  
.

"...Kiku...?" Jay blinked, when the other's eyes seemed to cloud over. "Are you... ok?" she asked, bringing the other back to the present.

"...I'm... sorry, Bennett-san..." he started.

"...?" Jay just tilted her head to the side slightly in confusion.

"I... can not defy _his_ wishes... If he decides it's what must be done..." he trailed off, before shaking his head to clear his morbid thoughts.

"In any case, Bennett-san, since you never really asked to get involved with our family's 'problem'... I'd just like to apologize in advance, and say that I'm 'sorry'...

"That's all," he explained, before walking away.

"Oh-! Uhm, Kiku! W-Wait-!" she started, unconsciously starting forward, arm stretched out to stop him.

"Ah-!" Kiku blinked as he was pulled back by the (surprisingly strong) girl, before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"...! I-I'm... so sorry-!" she exclaimed, becoming depressed when she realized just what she'd done. "Agh~~! I'm such an idiot -I swear, Kiku, I didn't do it on purpose-!" she apologized.

"Its... alright, Bennett-san..." Kiku sighed, as he somehow managed to pull his head through the neck-hole of the suddenly larger shirt. "It'll be fine as long as no one saw," he assured the girl.

_Probably..._ he added mentally in afterthought.

"Uhm- Erhm... K-Kiku... Thank... you -for worrying about me," she clarified as the now stork-shaped Kiku looked up at her from the mess that had been his clothes. "It really makes me happy," she continued, smiling at the Crane, and ignoring the bump she had caused on her forehead a bit earlier (via her own stupidity). "But, really... It's okay, Kiku-! I'll be fine," she promised.

"I mean, I found out such a big secret that you _have_ to talk to the head of your family about. So it really wasn't your fault -and you couldn't help it, right?" she asked.

"So... please, do whatever you need to to make your family less nervous, okay?" she grinned.

_I... _will_ be sad to have to forget such an important memory... But, they _did_take me into their house -and unconditionally_ {Er... N-No... _housework_... Juliana! Remember?(!)}_- when they found out that I had been living in a tent, so..._

_I... was truly very happy-! But.._

_I'll bear with it. If it's for them... I can still go on._

"There's... just one thing," she added, smiling warmly down at a wide-eyed Kiku, as she carefully kneeled down so that they were both on eye-level (or as much as _possible_ with how things currently were).

"Please... if... If my memories are erased. Kiku, will... you still be my friend...?" she asked, her head tilting just slightly to the side as she smiled warmly at the Crane.

"**...Bennett-san...**" Kiku started, his eyes un-widening themselves as he smiled back (or, rather, as much as a Crane can), before a poof of smoke filled their vision again.

"AHK-!" she blushed, immediately turning her head away and covering her ears and eyes, as she did so (for whatever reason).

"Ah..." Kiku sighed, "it... seems that it didn't take quite so long to change back, this time..." he sweat slightly, as Jay tried to compose herself in the background.

"I-I'm sorry..." Jay mumbled, _But... I honestly didn't see anything this time, so..._ she thought, as she waited for the other to finish dressing.

"It's quite alright, Bennett-san, you can turn around now," he smiled, now that his clothes were all back on, having not heard the girl's mumbling.

"O-Okay..." she agreed, turning back before noticing something. "Ah... Kiku... your shirt-!" she started.

"Eh?" Kiku blinked, looking down at the shirt he was wearing.

It was a plain, brown short-sleeved shirt with a few buttons near the neck at the collar, which, at the moment, were either crooked, or just in the wrong hole. He also wore black trousers underneath, a thin jacket with a hood went over all of that.

"Your buttons..." she told him.

"Ah... My apologies, I'm afraid I'm still not quite used to wearing these western style clothes..." he admitted, sweating slightly.

"Heehee~ Really?" she asked, "That surprises me-!" she grinned. One would've thought that he would be rather proficient at anything he did...

"But, in that case, it's my turn to help you~!" she smiled, fixing the buttons on Kiku's collar for him.

"..."

_"If normal people knew about your secret, they'd be_ disgusted_, Kiku."_ The words ran through his head once again, as he allowed the other to fix his shirt._ "They would be sickened by it and stay away from you..."_

"Bennett-san..." Kiku started, once Juliana had finished fixing his shirt.

"Yes...?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with a smile.

"You... You're not... _sickened_... by me...?" he asked, trailing off as his voice became softer and softer.

"Eh? No, of course not! I'm A-Ok!" she grinned, having only heard the 'you're not sick' part, since Kiku had gotten to soft for her to hear the rest.

"Eh...?" Kiku blinked, _What...?_ he thought, deadpanning for half a second before he sighed, smiling softly.

"Bennett-san... If... you don't mind, would you... like to walk home together...?" he asked.

Jay grinned, "Sure! I'll meet you after classes... are... AH-!" she exclaimed, suddenly remembering why she had come down in the first place. "Oh my gosh-! Kiku, I'm so sorry! I forgot! I still have PE right now!" she panicked.

Kiku blinked, having moved back a little in surprise when she had suddenly exclaimed. "Eh? Oh, no, it's quite alright. I apologize for keeping you so long," he said sheepishly, a bit little disappointed to have to leave her at the moment.

"No, no! It's my own fault!" she exclaimed, before smiling, "So, uhm... Shall we meet after school...?" she asked, smiling, "By the lockers, right...?"

Kiku blinked, before returning the smile with one of his own, "Yes... of course-!"

The two exchanged grins before parting ways...

The words _"Will... you still be my friend...?"_ echoed in his mind as he walked back towards the SGO room.

_Of course I will..._ he finally thought in reply._ And thank you..._

* * *

Needless to say, she had ended being rather late to class after all. By the time she had gotten there, half the class had finished their laps, and, to save time, the teacher allowed her to just walk in her regular clothes.

Which, actually, was a good thing, considering the clothes that she 'hadn't had time to wash' had included her PE Uniform.

After PE, she and Rissa had met up with Rei, before she and Rei had parted for Science, and Rissa went off for her own class. After that, the two girls had gone to Health, and after which, the trio had met up again, near the buses, since Rei and Rissa took the buses home, even if they were different buses, since not only did the girls live apart, but Rissa also held part-time jobs, and the school had a bus especially for those that worked a bit farther away from the school than possible walking distance without being late.

Some days, Rissa would even take one of the early buses that arrived after their fifth period (PE), so the girls wouldn't see her at all after that.

But, since that was only Wednesdays and Thursdays, so it was only two days a week. Today was Tuesday, though, so they _had_ met up.

After the girls had gotten onto their buses, Jay had walked back into the school, to grab a few things that she'd need from her locker, where she saw Kiku.

"Oh-!" She blinked, "You... surprised me," she said rather sheepishly, once her heart had slowed back to its regular tempo.

"My apologies," Kiku said, smiling a bit, as he waited for her to grab her Math and History texts, and put them into her own back, his own slung over a single shoulder. "I didn't mean to startle you..."

Jay just smiled in response as she shut her locker, "It's alright, Kiku! Really, I'm just easily surprised..." she blushed, "So it's my fault, really. Although, I didn't think you'd be right behind me," she laughed.

Kiku chuckled, as they started walking, "Well then, let's go home, shall we?" he smiled.

"Okay!" Jay grinned, following after, as they left school grounds...

* * *

"Huh... it seems that Francis-san has yet to return," Kiku noted, when they entered the silent house.

"Really?" she asked, "Well then, I'm going to put my things in my room!" she called back as she headed for the stairs.

"Alright," Kiku replied, as he locked the door behind them.

Jay walked up the stairs, only to stop when she heard something rip from her room.

"...Oh!" she blinked, startled when she saw Arthur in her room, standing on a ladder extended towards the roof, with tape in one hand, and one of the ends in his mouth, as the other steadied him on the ladder.

"Is it just you?" Arthur asked when he noticed her, turning to face her, and revealing a light, purple bruise around his cheek-bone.

"Er, yes... It's just Kiku and me..." she blinked.

Arthur sighed, ripping the large piece of tape out, to stick on the last segment of plastic around the roof opening. "I see -well, it's just a temporary fix," he warned her, as he set the tape down and came down. "It should hold out the rain, at the very least," he continued, as he stepped off, cleaning up the last bit of debris left, and slinging a large black trash-bag over his shoulder, with the ladder under one arm.

"I'll try to do a better job over the weekend, but that'll have to do for now -you can call a professional if you don't like it," Arthur finished, stopping in front of the door, as she stepped back to let him through.

"O-Okay..." she said. _I finally got to meet him... but... he doesn't really like me, does he...?_ she thought, as she accepted his gruff attitude.

"...You..." Arthur started, as she gasped, jumping a bit, as she turned back around to face him.

"Y-Yes?(!)" she asked.

"I... tend not to be very good at talking to people, so... If I seem kind of... _rude_... at times...

"Or, if I get angry -I tend not to see what's around me when I'm really mad- so..." he started.

"Look, what I'm trying to say, is try not to take it too badly if I'm rather rude, at times..." he mumbled, "I... France, he... I just get pissed off too easily, I suppose..." he admitted.

"D-Don't tell France I said that, though!" he exclaimed, blushing a bit, "I... my 'training'... It's not enough for me to be able to cool quickly, so... I tend to fall into a foul mood a lot...

"Just... You know what? Just don't mind me," he said, starting to feel frustrated. "Just pretend I don't exist if you have to!" he scowled, kicking at the ground lightly, "So... In advance..."

"...?" Jay tilted her head slightly, as she wondered what he was trying to say.

"I'm sorry," he said, "In case I do anything to hurt you or your feelings," he explained.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is-" he started.

"I'M HOME, MON CHERI JEUNES~~~!" a familiarly obnoxious voice interrupted, pissing the poor brit off without even trying.

"Oh, and I suppose we shouldn't forget _l'idiote Angleterre_~~" he added drolly -almost as if in afterthought. {Did he forget on purpose...? Hmn, we'll never know~ XD}

Okay, so maybe he _was_ trying to after all...

"_GODDAMNIT, YOU FRENCH BASTARD! I SWEAR I'LL BREAK YOUR BLOODY NECK THIS TIME...!_" the Briton practically flew down the stairs in order to strangle the Frenchman...

* * *

{**A/N**: Okay, so I was veeery tempted to end there, but then thought, eh, what the heck~ I'll put some more up~ =3 Almost at the 10k mark, but still~~ So, be thankful peoples who read this story, that I'm posting even though NO ONE reviewed... Especially so soon. I very honestly doubt that any chapters will get out this fast from here on since I DO have a life, you know~~ In any case, I'll stop blabbing and let ya'll read on~~ :hearts:}

* * *

Almost half and hour (or maybe an hour after all) later, Arthur had calmed down enough to leave the French man be -for the moment- and make his 'announcement'.

* * *

...So... I won't be punished...?" Jay blinked, as the four gathered in the (semi-repaired) living room, and Francis informed them all that 'he' had decided to allow her to stay.

"Oui~ _he_ said that so long as you can keep our 'secret', you may stay," he grinned, as her expression brightened and relaxed from the anxious one she had previously been wearing.

"But, you absolutely _must_ keep our secret, _compris_?" he continued seriously, though he sweat a little, thinking: _"Punished"...?_

"Y-Yes! Of course!" she exclaimed, eyes determined, yet excited. She wouldn't have to lose her memories!

Francis grinned, though Kiku was quiet, and Arthur was off to the side, purposely trying to stay away and pretending not to pay attention.

"Oh, yes..." Francis remembered suddenly, "One more thing, _tous les_," he continued, calling all their attention to himself once more.

"_He_ also wished that Arthur stay here as well," he said, though it was in a less than happy, though he managed to keep up a cheery facade.

"_WHAT?(!)_" the Brit blurted out, staring at the elder male with an incredulous look. "_Are you fucking serious_?" he exclaimed. "I have to live with _you_?(!)"

Francis shrugged, "Don't blame me, Angleterre," he said airily, "It was_His_ will, and you know that His word is law," he reminded the blond brit, who began to cuss.

_Should have known..._ Kiku thought, ignoring the Briton for now, as he watched Jay try to calm the visibly upset Nation down.

"I knew there had to be some catch," he muttered, crossing his arms, as he leaned against the door-frame beside Francis, "but..."

"_Que_-?" Francis blinked, looking surprised.

"Involving Bennett-san... You... and 'that' person aren't _planning_anything, are you...?" he asked, eyes narrowing slightly in thought.

"..." Francis sweat slightly. _Jeune Kiku is quite sharp..._ he thought, recalling the 'conversation' that had led to this one.

_"...Very well,"_ the obsidian-haired youth had agreed, _"I shall trust this girl,"_ he had continued, lazily fingering the gilded birdcage that was on the table they both sat at, one arm keeping his head up.

_"This might even be to our advantage,"_ he had gone on, turning his cold, steely grey eyes to meet his own. _"Kiku does have rather good instincts, but..._

_"Still, proceed carefully, Francis..."_

"Non, non~ _En Verite, _Kiku!" he laughed "You should really learn to be more trusting~~" he said airily, a red rose help up to scent, as he spoke cheerily.

"..." Kiku's eyes narrowed dangerously, but, before he could speak, they were interrupted by Jay, who had come over after a while.

Uhm... E-Excuse me," she started, catching their attention, and making them turn to her in askance.

"Uhm, this... might sound a bit strange for me to say this, but...

"Please... take good care of me!" she exclaimed, bowing somewhat, "And, thank you, again, for not only taking care of me before, but for giving me a room as well!" she said, smiling as she straightened, surprising the two.

"...Bennett-san..." Kiku started, a little surprised to be seeing such a 'familiar' custom here, "Y-Yes... Of course!" he said a bit shyly, though he was smiling, a light blush of happiness on his face. Truly, it had been_forever_ since he'd heard that familiar 'custom'.

"Oui, oui~" Francis grinned, "But of course~" he said, winking at the girl, as he held out the rose as a 'gift', "We'll make sure to take _extra_ special good care of you, oui~?"

"Er... Th-Thank... you...?" she blinked, feeling a bit of a chill going down her spine for some reason, as she accepted the rose, not noticing the sharp kick in the knee that the Frenchman received, as she moved away to talk to Arthur.

"-!" Francis gasped, wincing in pain as his knee buckled, as he glared up at the Japanese, though he faltered, withering under the hard stare he received from the other, deciding that perhaps it would be a better idea to listen to Kiku for once...

On the porch, Jay tilted her body slightly so that she could look -the still sulking- Arthur in the face, "And, you too, of course, Arthur-!" she smiled warmly, "Please... take good care of me!" she exclaimed.

"Wha- Why do I have to-?" he started, turning to glare at the girl, only to find a fist in his face, as he was thrown out into the yard.

"Eh...?" Jay blinked, surprised.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?(!)" he yelled.

"Non, non, Angleterre! You should not be so _rude_ to a lady, oui~?" he said, tsking as he shook a finger, somehow pulling a rose from seemingly nowhere, as it waved back and forth, almost as if it were an extension of his forefinger. "Or, was I mistaken and you are not the_gentleman_ you claimed to be~~?" he asked airily, smirking even as he stared down condescendingly at the Blonde.

"Why... you... _DAMN FROG! _I SWEAR! I WILL_ REALLY_ BREAK YOUR BLOODY NECK THIS TIME-!" he exclaimed, as 'war' broke out between the two once again.

"E-Eh~?1" Juliana started to panic as she tried to figure out a way to calm the two down, as Kiku sighed, shaking his head.

Looks like he was going to have to 'ask' them to fix whatever damage they made again... he thought, as he went over to the girl, and began to lead her out of the room, suggesting that she begin dinner preparations, and let him handle breaking the two apart.

He didn't want her to get hurt, after all, she was the only girl in a house of three men...

Confused, but amiable, the single female in a household of (primarily) males agreed.

Kiku took another look back at the two still 'rolling around' outside, and sighed once more, shaking his head -they were still arguing as they fought.

Perhaps it would be best to let them be, for now. Besides, he still had Physics and Calculus homework to do, he thought, as he walked away, making a mental note to have the two ruffians fix whatever damages they made...

* * *

**A/N**: WHOOT! FINALLY DONE! *cheers* I would have had it up earlier, if I hadn't decided to be nice and go on. So THANK ME PEOPLES~! XD

By the way, I really was planning to end at the place where that really long A/N was (for those that haven't figured it out, I use {} for A/Ns, so as not to confuse it with the actual story). If I had, the story would've been 9,753 words, which I would have been satisfied with...

If it had touched the 10k mark... (Yes, I know, I'm getting greedy, even though I'm so lazy)

But, you shall all be happy to know that this chapter (not including the A/N-break) is 10,930 Words! Almost 11k! A new record! (again)

I was also tempted to just erase everything after the A/N mark, though, when the stupid computer moved back a page, and erased THREE-FOURTHS of the ending part I had JUST written! (Its true, I even ranted to Blueyedemoness-chan, who's still being so NICE to be patient as she is for me to finish re-writing/editing Stuck in the KHR! World; my KHR! Story. And she REVIEWS unlike people who don't here (even though I KNOW people've read it -I even enabled anonymous reviews, people! Come on!) but that's probably just me, being all irritable cuz my current PRIDE AND JOY, aka Woruba, which has an average of 10K per chapter is getting no comments/reviews even though it's the LONGEST and -in my opinion- MOST INTERESTING story so far... *glareglareglare*), but, since I promised my friends who at least COMMENT, even if she doesn't have an account and can't review (or at least, she couldn't/didn't know about the function til now), I put it up.

SO BE HAPPY PEOPLES!11

But seriously, if no one comments/reviews I can't do better work! REVIEWS FEED ME!11 Well, okay, not really, but... yeah... *shifty eyes* I like them. Plus, even if they're flames/criticisms they still HELP in come way, and it's at least SOME kind of comment...

Oh! That reminds me, I'm sure you're all curious as to who the 'Akito' character is, and why I haven't put his name in...

And no, it's not a ploy to make you curious (but does it? XD I'd like to know), cuz quite honestly...

I have NO idea what I'm naming him, really. He was just "X" in my book (mental, of course, I never actually WRITE anything unless I have to -which explains why I was so upset about the segment of the story being 'deleted', though it's not the technical word for it *doesn't know the word for it*).

So... I want to have a contest~~ The rules: It has to be English (not another language, okay?) And it can be Latin or whatever.

So, a name -preferably with some meaning. If no one can figure one out, at least (from the description I'll put up under 'X'), then... yeah. I'm sorry if his name won't suit him, but it'll probably be something along the lines of "Claude" or something really lame...

Winner will get a mention, and, if possible, an Omake or something. Maybe they can even appear as a side character in the story! XD Maybe...

Oh, almost forgot:

**WARNING**: There will be some eventual Shounen Ai (hopefully), since I want to try my hand at it here. (Plus, RoChu's just adorable~ Like- Ah, almost gave another fundamental pairing away~ Bad me! Bad! XD)

And...

**DISCLAIMER**: I IN NO WAY OWN furuba OR Hetalia!, they belong to their respectful owners. I have no rights on them... On the _other_ hand...

I DO own the OCs, and I DO have the right to 'express myself' through Fanfiction! XD Yay!

Okay, so thats about it for that, also, I wanna know if you guys prefer PREVIEWs or OMAKEs. For that question, I'm going to put up an Omake this time instead of a Preview (Oh, also, notice how the Preview was a little different from the Chapter? Yes, I edited it and made it better -just to warn you, I WILL make the stuff better if I can). Now, before I bore you all to death with my rambling, I'll put up the 'Profile' (incomplete of course), and tack on the OMAKE at the end and leave it at that, so...

PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE~~! Even flames help, so long as they're not intentionally CRUEL in an effort to KILL THE AUTHORESS!

**{ ?**: Pft- We'd be better of if you _did_ die... *mutters* **Authoress**: WHAT? How could you Iggy! **England**: Oh come ON now! "Iggy"? Really? You too? **Authoress**: What? It's a PERFECTLY good nickname! **England**: ... *eyes narrow* It. Is. NOT. My. Name-! *glare* **Authoress**: Okay! Sheesh! *grumbles* **}**

* * *

**"X"** (At least until I come up with a name) -Replacement for Akito. Possibly Bi-Polar, with moods that swing wherever the winds blow, he can be cruel and sadistic at times, and rather selfish. Age will not be divulged until a later date/chapter. (I do know how old he'll be, but... Yeah, I don't wanna ruin anything yet~~ :hearts:)

Appearance (as much as known so far): Obsidian Black hair, and steely, cold, grey eyes framed by almost girl-ish lashes. This boy's (definitely a boy, people! NOT A GIRL! *spoiler for those that have read to the end if they know what I'm talking about) 'beauty' is the cold kind of beauty that can freeze one's heart if you're not careful.

Transformation?: No Data available at Present.

(Also, if you guys want me to keep a list of all the OCs at the end of every chapter, please say so! Otherwise it'll just be every once in a while, when something 'important' is added. Also, 'Profiles' will NOT give away any hints of the next chapters if I can help it! So... there we go!)

* * *

Now... for the Omake~~

* * *

**OMAKE! Corner** (first appearance, and hopefully not the LAST):

{For now, I plan to use the "OMAKE THEATRE" from the original Manga, but I will definately add 'original' omake's as well! Promise! X3 Also, this is a hint for a soon-to-come chapter, people! XD Be happy! Spoiler/Preview-ish Omake! XP Lol!}

OMAKE THEATRE PART 1: Life in the Bonnefoy House; pre-Jay

{Similar to the original ones in the manga! XD}

Francis opened the door to the Bonnefoy kitchen, empty take-out boxes in hand, as he stared at the pile of trash in a corner of the room.

"Hmn..." The blonde male looked around the kitchen for a place to throw the boxes away, before thinking for a moment.

"..."_ Eh, it can't hurt~_ he thought, shrugging as he absently tossed the boxes into the growing trash-pile, turning away and shutting the door close as he did so.

After all, what difference did 'one more' make anyways...? was the logic he used. And, by the time that Kiku realized what he had been doing, it was too late.

Even _he_ wouldn't be able to clean such a mess... (He may have liked cleanliness, but he wasn't going to risk his life for Francis to start the process all over again!)

He absently wondered what had happened to the person that had been keeping the house clean before, before figuring that they had probably just quit. Francis wasn't a very good/reliable boss, after all.

He wouldn't have blamed the poor girl...

_Or_ guy.

.  
.

Elsewhere, an ash-blonde male sneezed loudly, startling the white polar-bear that he had curled up against, watching another blue-eyed blonde move aorund excitedly in the snow-storm outside...

He absently wondered where his brother got so much energy from.

.  
.

_And thus, the sea of decay expands...!_

* * *

P.S.:! Almost forgot! You know how when Francis, Kiku, and Arthur were animals were in 'animal form' they spoke in "**Bold Print**"? Yeah, well, you can be sure that'll happen again. Just thought I'd add that before I forgot~ =P

**Edit:** Wow, I just found some mistakes. Oh, and if Star Anise-chan *not sure if girl or boy* comes back, I shall answer your review in the next chapter unless you PM me! ^w^ Then I can answer you directly! ^^

**Edit2(4/19/11'):** Another Edit. More Mistakes... Wow. Also fixed the "1" problem by using parentheses for the "!". Hope that works out better~

Chapter 3 should be out sometime this break! =3 As soon as I finish going through all 10 chapters of Stuck! (There are... only _3_ more chapters left before I can FINALLY get started on typing chapter 3 of this~~ :hearts:) Whoot! XD

By the way, the word count for this chapter is now definitely over 10,930... So... yeah, just thought ya'd like t'know~

Also, I realized that I never explained the whole 'I'm gonna f*ckin' kill you, you s.o.b. frenchie!' thing. Let's just say that Nations can't kill each other... 'kay? I'll explain more next chapter~ =3


	4. 3 Conflict (& Extra)

**Woruba**: World's Basket!

_by_ Murasaki Argenteria

* * *

"Oh...?" Kiku blinked, as he stared at the room before him. He had known that Bennett had decided to start with the kitchen, but he hadn't really been expecting much progress.

_This_, however...

He had almost had to shade his eyes, the room had looked so brilliant. Well, perhaps not _brilliant_, per say, but it was most _definitely_ cleaner that it had probably ever been -even when it had first been built.

"You've done quite well with the kitchen, Bennett-san," Kiku complimented the girl as he admired the cleanliness of the room.

"Eheheh~ I did my best!" she admitted, beaming at the compliment, "Oh, and dinner's ready, by the way!" she announced, smiling as she moved to grab a some dinnerware, conveniently revealing an electric cooker that sat on the counter.

"We... have a rice-cooker?" Kiku blinked, staring at the machine in mild surprise -actually, he was more surprised by the fact that she even knew how to _use_ it. He honestly doubted that the manual was still in the house, let alone the kitchen.

Juliana just smiled, though, bringing over a set of four bowls, "I managed to unearth it," she told the Japanese boy. "Where are Arthur and Francis?" she asked curiously, "It's been rather quiet for a while now..."

"Hmn?" Kiku looked over to her, tearing his eyes away from the wondrous discovery of the Rice-Cooker. "Oh, Francis-san said something about going out to do something that our Head asked him to do, and dragged Arthur-san along with him," he said by way of explanation.

Honestly, even if Francis hadn't left with Arthur, he somewhat doubted that the Briton would be able to stay quiet for long...

"Oh, I see!" she said, "Then I suppose I should put these away..." she trailed off, looking at the extra two bowls she'd carried over.

"I don't think you'd need to put them away -from what Francis-san was saying, I don't think they'll be away for too much longer -they left a few hours ago, you know."

She blinked, "Eh? Really?" She hadn't noticed, to be honest -then again, cleaning out the kitchen had taken some time... Although, the good thing about it was that she had managed to prepare dinner from some of the still edible foodstuffs in the freezer once she'd found it. She had also re-arranged some of the cabinets so that dinner-ware, utensils, and seasonings and the like weren't mixed together, but she was sure they wouldn't mind about that, at the very least. She was still surprised that they had managed to live for so long with the kitchen in the state it was.

From the layers of filth in there, she would've guessed that it had been piling up for nearly a year now...

"Then, I suppose I should prepare their share as well," she said, glad to know she hadn't made a mistake.

"Do you need any help carrying the food out?" Kiku asked, as she started to scoop out the rice.

"Eh? Oh, uhm... I suppose -where do you normally eat?" she asked.

"The other room," he answered, walking over to the delicious looking (and smelling) platters on the other side of the cooker, "I believe it was the one we first received you in," he admitted, recalling her outburst at the time rather dryly. Despite being sick, she had managed to act so energetically...

"O-Oh..." she blushed a little. It was quite obvious that both were thinking of the same thing, and a slightly awkward silence fell between them.

"I-In that case, then, please feel free to start setting it on the table!" she started, trying to calm herself down, "I'll bring the rice once I finish here," she told the other.

"Y-Yes, of course," Kiku answered, before taking a few of the dishes, and hastily making his exit.

Juliana just continued to scoop and serve the rice, making sure that everyone got the same amount, before covering them with the small plates that looked like they went with it. She carefully stacked them, so that there were two in each hand, and carried it out, just as Kiku returned.

"Ah, here. Please let me help," Kiku started, taking the top two bowls of rice.

"Oh! Uhm, thank you, Kiku!" she smiled at the boy, as they walked to the table, "I'll go get the utensils if you don't mind grabbing the last few dishes," she told him.

"Not at all," he said with a slight smile as he walked around the table to put his two bowls of rice at the two other places.

By the time Kiku got back to the kitchen, Juliana was nowhere in sight, but he figured she'd probably just gone to the restroom or something, as he got the last few dishes, as requested, before he left, though, he stopped by the utensil drawer (and the only drawer that Juliana hadn't re-arranged, surprisingly), but found that his chopsticks and several utensils were gone.

"...?" Surprised, Kiku wondered if maybe he'd somehow passed her without knowing, but when he opened the kitchen door and walked out, he almost ended up walking right into the person he had been thinking about.

"Ahk-!" Luckily, both parties had managed to stop in time, "Oh, Kiku! You startled me!" Juliana admitted, as they walked back to the (apparently) dining room together.

"My apologies, Bennett-san, though you startled me as well," he admitted.

He had almost dropped all the food -and that would have been a huge waste...

"I'm sorry," she said, looking properly admonished.

"Where did you go anyways?" Kiku asked curiously, seeing that she had the utensils with her, though she had an extra set of chopsticks that he didn't recognize.

"Oh, I went to get my chopsticks," she told him, "I figured you wouldn't mind that I'd brought them, when I saw that you had a pair in the drawer," she admitted.

"Ah," Kiku nodded. They were the ones he usually used, but with the fact that they had been eating out as of late, and the kitchen had been turned into an ocean of trash, he had just used the disposable chopsticks that came with the take-out (plus, it was rather entertaining to watch France fumble around with the chopsticks, give up, then eat with his hands, before he got reprimanded, and had to bear with eating slopping using the chopsticks).

"In that case, shall we eat or should we wait?" she asked, as they finished setting the table.

"We should probably wait..." Kiku started, before his stomach made it known that it did _not_ like the idea of waiting.

Juliana giggled, when Kiku started to blush, covering his stomach as best he could, "I'm sure they won't mind if we go ahead without them," she said with a smile, "It's not healthy to let your stomach go empty for too long, you know," she chided lightly.

Kiku just smiled, "That's true," he said, though a little sheepishly, as they sat down together. Seeing as their chopsticks had been placed next to each other, though, they ended up sitting at ninety degree angles from each other.

"Let's dig in then, shall we?" she smiled, holding up her chopsticks.

Kiku just smiled, "Yes," he said with a smile, "_Itadakimasu_," he said as his custom dictated, before picking up his rice and chopsticks. He felt a little awkward being the only to say it, but...

"Itadakimasu!" He blinked, looking over at Juliana in surprise, as she clapped her hands together, even though she was still holding her own utensils and picking up her own bowl. Noticing his look, she smiled, "It's a bit awkward to be the only one to do it, right?" was her way of explaining it.

"Ah," Kiku blinked in surprised, but smiled, "Thank you, Bennett-san," he said, as they both dug in.

"No thanks, Kiku!" she smiled, "I'm just glad I'm not the only one using chopsticks," she admitted.

"I see," he said, before digging in, "...It's good," he said, once he'd tasted the food.

"Really? It's not too bland?" she asked, looking just a little nervous, "I tend not to use a lot of salt, so some people say it's bland..." she admitted, "I wasn't sure if you preferred lighter or heavier flavors," she told the other.

Kiku just smiled, "No, I'm surprised you didn't add more salt, I actually prefer lighter flavors," he said, though he was smiling partly from nostalgia, "It's been a while since I've had a home-cooked meal like this, too," he said, remembering when he used to eat with his brother.

"Oh, really?" she asked, "Didn't Francis ever cook anything?" she wondered, after eating a little as well.

"Well, yes," he admitted, "But I meant an Asian meal," he admitted, "Usually it's either me or Francis who cooks," he told her, "We used to have someone who cooked for us," he admitted, vaguely remembering that the person who helped keep their house clean had also cooked on occasion, "but they disappeared sometime after Arthur-san did as well, surprisingly," he admitted, frowning.

Oddly enough, he couldn't really remember who it was -something that was strange because Kiku usually had such a good memory...

"Oh, really?" she blinked, tilting her head slightly, "That's odd," she said absently, though she really didn't know how odd it actually was, from the mildly perplexed expression that Kiku wore, she figured that it was.

Kiku just nodded, "It was, but we've learned to live with it," he said, "Francis said he hadn't recalled hiring any help to begin with, so..." he shrugged.

It had just been strange was all.

"Oh, I... see," she said, before silence fell, and they ate a bit more.

After a while, though, the conversation started again.

"Where do you think Francis and Arthur went?" Juliana wondered, staring at the clock a bit, it was nearing eight and neither male had returned yet.

"Well, I'm not really sure," Kiku said, pausing from eating for a bit as he looked at the clock as well, "It is getting late though..." he frowned.

"I hope they come back soon..." said Juliana as they ate a bit more.

Kiku just nodded, "It would be a shame for the food you made to get cold," he admitted.

"Heehee," Juliana smiled.

.

_Mom, right now, I'm eating dinner with Kiku Honda, who transforms into the National Animal of Japan. Strange, isn't it?_ she asked her mother.

_It's almost like a fairy tale._

.

"Oh, you went out earlier as well, right, Kiku?" she asked, remembering that she'd seen Kiku leave from the kitchen window when she'd opened it to air the room a little. "Were you shopping?" she wondered.

"...?" Kiku blinked, finishing the vegetable in his mouth, before he answered. "Oh, I was in the backyard, Bennett-san," he said, falling silent for a moment, as if hesitating, before he went on. "I was in my secret base," he admitted.

"Secret Base?" Juliana blinked, looking at the other curiously, "That sounds exciting!" she smiled, thinking of the typical secret base a child might come up with or make. Quite honestly, the one she was thinking of looked more like a fort than anything else.

Kiku chuckled, almost as if he could see what she was thinking of. "It's not what you think," he admitted, "But...

"If you want, I'll show it to you, next time," he said, smiling when her eyes seemed to light up.

"Really? Are you sure?(!)" she asked excitedly, "Oh, wow! I get to see a secret base~!" she cheered, practically beaming.

Kiku smiled, as he watched on, listening to her ramble. She really was quite interesting.

"...but girls weren't allowed," she pouted, as she recalled the only one she could remember. Some boys in her neighborhood at the time had built one, but, quite obviously, it had been one of those 'boys only' bases. "I can't wait!" she grinned...

And she honestly couldn't.

But, as all things do. Even the good had to come to an end, as the door slammed open, revealing a very irritable looking Briton, followed closely by an oddly serious looking France.

"Just listen to me for a _second_, Angleterre!" Francis called, as Arthur stalked into the room.

"SHUT UP, YOU WANKER!" the Briton exclaimed, "AGH-! I HATE YOU, STUPID FROG! DO YOU REALLY GET THAT MUCH ENTERTAINMENT FROM PLAYING AROUND WITH A PERSON'S LIFE?(!)"

"Well... _Oui_, now that you mention it, I do -but this is for your own good, Arthur!" the Frenchman called, stepping after him.

"YOUR PERSUASIVE SKILLS ARE BLOODY TERRIBLE, YOU GIT!" he yelled, not even looking back at the blonde behind him.

"Urh... Welcome... home...?" Juliana blinked, as Arthur passed, "Uhm, Dinner's-"

"NOT BLEEDIN' HUNGRY!" Arthur snapped, slamming the door as he passed through the room.

"Eh-?" Juliana was a bit taken back at Arthur's anger, though she probably shouldn't have been surprised, as she heard his feet stomp up the stairs towards his own room.

"Arthur-!" Francis called, "Angleterre, don't take this out on Jeune Jay!" he called, as he began to pull his shoes off, "And come back down here,_cet instant_ and take those shoes off!" he called after the green-eyed male.

"... He's right, you know," Kiku pointed out, "You really do need to work on your persuasive skills, Francis-san."

"Oh!" Jay blinked, when she realized she was staring at Francis, "This is the first time I've seen you in a suit!" she smiled, "You look really nice, Francis!"

"Oui? You really think so?" he asked, striking a small pose.

"...Yes, you remind me of a talk-show host, Francis-san," Kiku told the elder man.

"Ohohoh~" Francis smirked, before he noticed the spread on the table, "Oh, Dinner's ready~?" the Frenchman smiled as he sat down and picked up a fork.

"Oh, yes!" Jay smiled, "Please, sit!" she said, though it was a little late. "Uhm, Francis...?" she started after a while.

"Oui, jeune Jay?" he answered once he finished his mouthful of food.

"W-why... is Arthur so mad?" she asked.

"Oh, _that_. Best to leave that_ sot_ alone," he admitted, "I tricked him into taking a proficiency test."

"Pro...ficieny test...?" she blinked. Wasn't that one of those test one took to see what grade a person would be put in if, for whatever reason, someone had to take one...?

"Oui. Starting tomorrow, Angleterre will be attending the same high school as you two!" he smirked.

"...That explains the smirk," Kiku mumbled, somehow able to keep the others from hearing as he ate another vegetable.

"Oh, wow! Really?(!)" she asked, excited, before she remember the other's reaction. "But... why was he so upset about it...?" she asked.

"..." Francis was quiet for a while as he chewed his food thoughtfully. Would Angleterre kill him if he told her...?

Nah, it was such a minor thing, he thought, swallowing. "Well, you see. The last time Angleterre took a proficiency test, he didn't attend the boys' private academy even though he passed," he explained. "Instead, he went missing for a little over a year."

"No one knew where he'd been until now," he said, looking completely serious, despite the fact that he'd long since taken the suit off, "I found out where he'd been for so long, today," he said, "It seems Angleterre's been 'training' in the mountains," he told them.

"Training...?" Kiku blinked, staring at the Frenchman with his chopsticks halfway up to his lips.

"You mean... like sitting under a waterfall and wrestling bears to find himself? _That_ kind of training?(!)" she exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Er... well, something like that, I suppose. Oui."

"What would he do with that sort of training?" Jay wondered, more than a little confused.

Not even Francis knew the answer to this, though Kiku had an idea.

"... It's probably to control his anger," Kiku spoke at last, surprising the other two.

"Oui?" Francis looked startled, while Jay just looked plain surprised.

"Eh? Arthur has Anger issues...?" she blinked.

"..." Both males stared at her, sweating somewhat. Had she _not_ noticed his anger management issues until now...?

"...?" Jay just tilted her head a bit cluelessly as the two sighed.

"Arthur-san has always been quick-tempered," Kiku said at last. "It's gotten him into trouble more than once, Bennett-san."

Francis nodded in agreement, "That sot," he said, thinking about what an idiot the male was.

He'd been gone for _over a year_, and yet, there was still no visible progress. True, it took a little more to get him riled up, Francis could admit, but the male was still too easily annoyed

"Oh... I see," was all Jay said, as she fell quiet -almost subdued, in her thinking.

The rest of dinner continued on in silence...

* * *

"Where?(!) D'you see 'im?" "Yeah, over there! The blonde kid with the giant eyebrows!" "What~~? They don't look like each other at all!"

"Teehee~ Are those eyebrows for real?(!)"a girl giggled off to the side.

Half the school had appeared just to see "Kiku's cousin", but, judging from the irritated and nervous look on his face...

_Ahahah... He's getting scared...! _though Jay, as she and her two friends watched the congregation from a safe vantage point.

"Heh. He acts like he's never been around girls," Rissa smirked, her sadistic nature coming out as she watched the poor blonde squirm.

"Hey, hey, are you really Kiku's cousin?(!)" a girl asked the poor Brit, who looked just about ready to explode.

"He... he gives off a similar aura as Kiku," Rei murmured, nibbling at her chips.

"It's almost as if they weren't completely human..."

"Ahahah..." Jay sweat, _Oh no! I forgot! Rei can read auras really well! _she thought, panicking a bit in her head at the possibility that she would find out about their 'secret'.

"Huh, really?" Rissa glanced back at the platinum-haired girl curiously before going back to watching the 'drama'. "That's interesting," she murmured, munching on the rest of her pocky. She had managed to get the last stick, which had forced Rei to open her pack of potato chips as well.

Off to the side, Kiku was being questioned by some of the upperclassmen in their Homeroom, though he seemed to take it all in stride, as he continued to write in his notebook.

"Hey, Kiku, is it true that your cousin transferred here?" asked a raven-haired senior, "Think you can introduce us~?" she asked, giggling a bit.

"...?" Kiku paused in his writing to look up, before smiling politely at the female. "My apologies, senpai, while it's true that he is my cousin, we really aren't that close," he said apologetically.

"Aw~~" the girl pouted, "Oh alright, I'll stop bothering you then!" she said, "Thanks anyways!" she called back as she walked away.

Kiku just nodded absently as he went back to his work -though, what he was working on was a bit of a question as well...

"Ah, Ar...thur?" Jay blinked, when the sound of a chair being pushed back caught her attention, and her eyes wandered over to see said blonde getting up and walking away.

It seemed that he couldn't really handle being around so many people anymore...

"Ah, hey, wait! Where're you going~? Let's talk~~!" one of the more forward girls made a grab at the poor brit's arm before anyone could warn her.

Unfortunately, as stressed out as he was, he was unable to give any warning as he went into autopilot, automatically detaining the girl, in a somewhat painful way. It seemed that he _had_ cracked, after all..

"Eek~! Owowow-! Let go! That _hurts_!" she exclaimed, when the girl suddenly found herself on the ground, with her arm twisted behind her back.

"A-Arthur-!" Jay started, hurrying over, "What's wrong?(!)" she asked as she and her friends rushed over.

"Hey, hey! Chill, малыш (malysh/kid) !" the taller of the trio called, "C'mon, let 'er go, идет (idet/ok) ?"

"JUST LEAVE ME THE BLOODY HELL ALONE, YOU WANKERS!" the Brit exclaimed at last, making a dash for the closest window, and, pulling it glass and mesh-covering up, he jumped.

"EEEK-!" one of the girls screamed, thinking he was suicidal.

"WAIT! THIS IS THE SECOND FLOOR!" the other girl exclaimed, rushing over to the window.

They were too late, though, as the green-eyed youth landed expertly and dashed off.

"..." Several students were shocked into speechlessness, but Rei, despite being quiet, was more surprised than shocked, as she pondered just what this could mean.

She had seen the boy's aura flare dangerously, the color darkening and flickering in anger, nervousness, and fear -definitely fear. As to why, though, she had no idea...

But it truly was something to ponder -for now, though...

"Oh my god! Did you _see_ that?(!)" the more excitable students were starting to gossip and chatter.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed another student.

"Yeah! That Arthur sure is special!" "_Special?_ He's a freak! This is the second floor!" exclaimed another, while the girl that had had a hand in causing all the mayhem just sniffled, crying a little, though it was more out of frustration.

"How _dare_ he pick on a girl?(!)"

"..." The only ones with no real comments were Kiku, Jay, and her two friends, though Rissa was laughing.

"Hahah~ What an interesting guy!" she grinned, as Jay chuckled nervously.

After all, it wasn't everyday one saw a boy jump out the second story window...

* * *

Out near the back of the school, a certain blonde was panting from his excursion as he forced himself to calm down, hands fisted in his lap as he scowled. Under the cool shade of the trees, he sat down on of the lower brick walls, taking deep breaths.

He'd done it again. He'd just... _exploded_... and in front of those 'normal' people as well...

They probably thought he was a _freak_ now, too... Just _great_, he thought as he somehow managed to calm himself, unaware of the figure silently closing in on the male.

"...Arthur-san." Even the quiet tone Kiku used started the man, who whirled to face his 'cousin', though it was a rather loose word for their relationship...

They weren't really related, aside from the curse. _None_ of them really were.

"Oh... Kiku, it's you," the boy looked decidedly more relieved, though he quickly regained the worried look as he opened his mouth to speak again. "Look, about what happened in the classroom-" he started.

Kiku shook his head, "It's alright, Arthur-san," Kiku said, "Just please try not to cause such ruckuses, anymore -it's quite bothersome for me to explain," he told the other.

For a moment, the blond looked properly chastised, before scowling, "I still don't understand why you go to a school that's so full of bleedin'_girls_," he grumbled, though it was with a sigh, rather than a building argument -he honestly couldn't.

"..." For a moment, Kiku was silent, as he took a seat next to the Briton, folding his hands as he leaned onto his arms, staring at the open palms of his hands, before deciding to answer, despite the fact that it had been a rhetorical question

"Because it's better than hiding in fear everyday," he said, "Or going to an all boys' Academy on _his_ orders," he continued.

"..." Arthur looked at the other in surprise -he knew the other was a rather deep thinker, but this...? And the fact that he was doing it because he _wanted_ to disobey their 'God'...

"I... want to be able to come out of the 'cage' we're stuffed inside -even if it's just for a little bit," he continued, as his gaze averted itself into the branches overhead. "I honestly can not understand why you wish to live in that cage so badly, but I would not begrudge you of your freedom of thought," he continued, careful not to be too blunt, as he was sometimes told he was.

Even a blunt knife could cut, maybe not as cleanly as a sharper knife, but it could cut nonetheless.

"I..." the blonde swallowed, "You... don't understand," he said at last, as he tried to put a lid on his anger -partially caused by his 'shame', though why he felt that way, he had yet to understand himself.

"Francis... that bloody frog..." he started, but even saying that _idiot_'s name was like a catalyst for the green-eyed boy.

"I'll... I'll definitely beat him! The ruddy bastard!" he grit his teeth, trying not to 'explode' again as he already had. "I don't _want_ to be shunned by the others-!" he exclaimed angrily, slamming a fist into the wall he sat on, not seeming to realize that he was bleeding from the impact with the rough stone.

"I'LL GET STRONGER AND BE ACKNOWLEDGED AGAIN!" he exclaimed, panting as he stood on the concrete. Beside him, Kiku watched with apathy -he had known the explosion would've come sometime, though he still made the mistake of replying, even though he knew he shouldn't have.

The Brit needed it, though. An Outlet. For his anger, his hatred -his_pain_...

"I still don't see why you think it's so wonderful for us to be what we are," he said, though it wasn't in scorn or anger of any type, the blond seemed to take it the wrong way nonetheless.

"SHUT UP!" he exclaimed, grabbing the other teen by the collar, "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT _UP!_" he yelled.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A THING ABOUT ME!"

"No-!" the sudden exclamation surprised both of them, as they caught a flash of onyx hair, before the brit felt a warm weight slam into him. "You can't-!" she cried out, mistaking the elder boy's anger for aggression.

"Ahk-!" she hadn't realized what she'd done until after the fact, but she tried to 'stop' him nonetheless. "I'm so sorry! Uhm, I know you're angry but... but, please-! Don't fight anymore!" she babbled on, unaware that the feline was more than a little ticked off now, "P-People get in trouble for fighting as school, so-!"

"**Oh, shut ****_up!_**" the feline exclaimed, "**I don't ****_care_**** if I get in trouble, so stay out of my way, already!**" he exclaimed, causing more of a misunderstanding than before, as he 'exploded'.

"Arthur-san..." Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea after all... he thought, as he watched the British Feline rail at the poor girl.

"**I CAN'T EVEN STAND TO SEE YOU!**" were the final words that she heard.

"..." For a moment, all three were silent. One in surprise, one in realization, one in apathy, and all in some shock, as the only female of the trio finally got up, eyes shadowed, and expression unreadable as she walked off in silence.

"**Ah-!**" Realizing what he'd said, Arthur tried to fix it, but -as always, he was too late.

She was already gone...

As the two stood there, there was only one thought that continued to repeat and wind itself through the female's head:

_He hates me-! He really hates me!(!)_

As she disappeared from view, Kiku sighed, shaking his head. "You know, you went too far with that," was all he said, before walking away from the feline

"**...You aren't going to hit me...?**" the male asked.

"...No," Kiku answered, stopping for a moment. "There are times when it hurts more not to," he finished, before leaving.

And so it was, with those words ringing through his ears, that Arthur Kirkland reached a silent paw out to pull his shirt over.

Kiku had been right, of course. It had hurt more that the other hadn't hit him.

After all, even though the male was a 'pacifist', he was still an expert martial artist, and he probably could've sent both Arthur and Francis back onto their arses if he were annoyed enough, though he never did.

Apparently it wasn't worth it to break up a fight that would just happened again later, when he could just let it run its course for now -unless there was a good reason for him _to_ step in, anyway.

* * *

.  
.

_"That's it! I'll stop being American and become British!"_

I'd actually meant that.

I'd really been crying, too, when I found out that he'd been ostracized like he was -just for being different, and -as I now realize- for having a more open mind.

Plus the fact that he had been tricked into being so late for the Millennial Banquet that God threw, causing people to think that he was arrogant, when he had arrived like he had -his first Millennial Banquet, too. Even though he hadn't known, because he had believed the other Nation that so liked to tease him.

Added to the fact that he had chosen the Lion, a proud animal, as his National Animal hadn't helped either.

.

* * *

_Ah~ What should I do now...? _Jay thought, staring at the wall in a daze, as she recalled her past memories.

She was currently sitting on the floor of an empty hall (self-punishment), thinking over what she should do.

Should she apologize to him? He really seemed to hate her after all... Just what could she do...?

"Ah..." Turning the corner, Kiku was about to call out to Juliana, when he heard someone else, and stepped back to hide his presence in case he wasn't welcome -plus if people saw them talking after they didn't usually...

It'd just be way too suspicious.

"There-! I can feel her aura coming from this hallway," came the familiar sound of Rei's apathetic voice

"Ah! There she is~" Rissa said, as they walked into the hall.

"Oh-!" Jay started, seeing her friends, and panicked mentally If they saw her crying by herself-!

"What are you doin' there, Jules? Class is about to-"

_BAM-!_ "O-Ow...!" Jay sniffled, her eyes tearing up even more, as she began to regret the split-second decision "I-It hurts so much-!" she sobbed, one hand on the edge of the Fire Extinguisher's case, as the other rubbed her aching head.

"Ow-! Ju-Just now... This corner...! Ngh..."

"H-Hey... Jules," Morissa sweat, one hand reaching towards the other girl, as she sweat, "If I didn't know better I'd say you ran into it on purpose, дорога (doroga/dear one)!" she said, as the two females walked closer to the girl, using a pet name sometimes used for the two.

"..." Rei nudged Rissa, shaking her head at the curious look the taller, half-Russian girl, "Don't spoil her cover-up now, Mori," she chided gently, though not without a mildly amused look.

Morissa rolled her eyes, "Oh, right, cuz it was _such_ a good cover-up," she murmured sarcastically, though she didn't say it to either of their faces.

"..." Kiku watched the girls interact for just a little while longer, before deciding to leave.

It seemed that he wasn't needed here after all...

* * *

"...hoho~ So you just cut your first day of class?" the blue-eyed blond smirked slightly, though he didn't look over at the sulking Brit nearby.

Contrary to popular belief, the two didn't fight every single time they met -just _sometimes_.

"Hmph, what do you care?" the green-eyed one grumbled, " 's not like I_wanted_ to be here anyways," he muttered.

"Hm," Francis made a noncommittal noise, as he read over what he'd already written again, the special feather/quill-pen he typically used for writing just tickling the edge of his lip, before he scratched out another word and replaced it.

"It's only been a few days, oui? Think of it as more training," he said absently, as he went over the rest of it.

"..." For a moment, it was quiet in the house, aside from the mild drone of air conditioning and the scratch of the Frenchman's pen, though he put the pen down when the other began to talk again.

He wasn't _that_ dense, after all. And as much as the two disliked each other, there was a mutual respect hidden under the acidic remarks as well...

Somewhere.

"I only ever seem to say rude things to her," the Brit said at last as the other blond glanced over.

_Her...?_ "Jeune Jay?" he blinked, " 'hoho~ So you were in your 'usual good mood' today?" he couldn't help but smirk. "Ah well, perhaps you should just consider _not_ yelling at her in the first place, oui? Especially if you're going to be beating yourself up about it afterward, Angleterre," he chided, "It is just a thought, _bien sur_."

"...I just can't seem to help it," the younger blonde grumbled, "I suppose I'm just not meant for interacting with other people..."

"..." For once, Francis wore a serious, contemplative look. He could tease the other, or he could be serious.

He decided to go for serious, this time.

"People aren't born as social butterflies, Angleterre. True, it comes easier to some people -such as _moi_," he couldn't help but add, though he continued before the other could get his seething remark in, if the dull 'thud' was anything to go by. "But most people, like _you_, just need to work at it. Some more than others," he continued.

"You're just inexperienced, _Bretagne_. As an example, you could say that, as a martial artist, you have the strength to break _une table_ with just your fist. But you also have the _self-control_ to _stop_ it before it hits the table.

"You weren't _born_ with that control, Angelterre -you had to _refine_ it. Well, that's just the result of fighting bears in the mountains, oui~?"

Arthur twitched -and _just_ when he'd thought the man was going to be serious, he thought, grumbling.

"I didn't fight _bears_..." he mumbled, though he did understand where the other was going... a little.

The other just sighed. "You are missing my _point_, _vous réalisez_ . It's the same as interacting with people, Angleterre.

"Just, instead of training in the mountains, it had to be in a town, where_people_ live, _comprendre_? Associating with people, hurting them, and getting hurt in return. It's how you learn about others -and about your_self_. If you _don't_, you'll never be able to care about anyone but yourself, _pige_?

"You may be _un tapis noir_ in fighting, but you are but a _bande blanche_ in dealing with other people. So, at least for the sake of the woman who will (if possible) one day tell you she loves you, try not to keep running away, oui?"

"Pft- that is_ so _sappy! as if someone would ever tell me that," he mumbled.

"Fu~ And if someone does, what would you do?" the Frenchman chided gently.

"...can't even imagine," the other mumbled in response, "But... I _suppose_I'd ask her if she were sane."

"Fufu... Oh really, now?" the blonde chuckled.

"I'm home..." the soft voice startled both males, though, luckily for both their prides, the onyx-haired male couldn't see any of the briton except for the tuft of hair near a corner of the desk. And, if he noticed it, he didn't say anything.

"..." Sweating slightly, Arthur started to discreetly make his way out of the room, while Francis distracted him.

No one needed to know about their little _secret_, after all!

"Welcome back, jeune Kiku~" he could hear the prat greeting the other, "Where is jeune Jay?"

"Work," the other answered, the word accompanied by a light 'thud'. "She informed me that dinner's already been prepared, and we just need to heat it up."

"Is that so~? Well, I head that she gets off around elven, so I believe I shall walk our _chere demoiselle_ home, next time~"

"Hn. A good idea, I suppose, what with all the _perverts_ creeping around at night..."

It was clear who the jibe was aimed at, and was reacted to accordingly.

"Jeune Kiku!" the exclamation was accompanied by the muffled sound of a small crash, "I'm _hurt_! Do you really think so little of me, mon cher?"

The single "Yes," was accompanied by the sound of the sliding door being shut, and a certain Frenchman scrambling after said male.

"What?(!) Kiku! Kiku~?(!) You don't _really_ think so badly of moi, oui? Oui?(!)"

Arthur would've chuckled, were he not still trying to get out of the house without being noticed.

* * *

_Whew!_ Jay thought, walking down the path to the house, _What a long day! I wonder if everyone's asleep...?_

As she continued up the worn path, she couldn't help but to worry about the other occupants of the house -or rather, one in particular...

_I would if Arthur skipped dinner again? Is he still mad? He hadn't left the house, has he?(!)_

_"I CAN'T EVEN STAND TO SEE YOU!" _the words rang through her head, as she continued to worry. _What should I do?(!)_ she wondered, clutching her bag closer to her body.

_"You should just be yourself, Jay~!"_ the words resounded in her head, clearing away her worries with a bout of determination.

"Okay... I'll do my best, mom!" she promised quietly. _I won't let it get to me-!_

Just as she thought that, though, a rustling sound caught her attention.

_Wh-What... was that?(!) _she wondered, paling a bit, when she remembered that she was _alone_, in the _dark_, and at night...

The perfect situation for a creeper to take advantage of...

_Oh no...! C-Could it be...? The creepers that they warned me about...? O-Or a..._

_Pervert?(!)_

"WAH-! NOOO!" she screamed, swinging her bag at the unseen menace.

"Ah..." she sniffed, when she heard a familiar voice yelp in pain.

_Oh gawd, oh gawd, oh gawd-! How can I explain that I mistook him for a pervert?(!_ I just screamed 'NOOO!' at him, and...!_

Needless to say, Jay was panicking, though perhaps not quite as worriedly as Arthur was at the moment...

_'NOOO!'?(!) Oh gods, she really hates me now, doesn't she?(!) Was it something I said?(!) No, wait, that's stupid, it's obviously something I said -or did..._

_ARGH-!(!) What should I do?(!)_

"I-I'm so sorry! I just hit you with my bag -oh, but... I guess you already know that," she babbled sheepishly, "B-but enough about me! W-Were you taking a walk... or something?" she started.

"S-So, uhm... How did you... like school?" she said at last, when the silence had stretched for far too long. Arthur had turned away from her, too, so she couldn't see him properly.

"Stop it..." he mumbled at last, "If... it makes you that nervous to talk to me, you don't have to..."

"Uhm, Arthur...?" she blinked.

"What is it?" the Briton turned to face her.

"Uhm, n-no, that's not... uhm... I... wasn't really _nervous... _I mean, I _was_but, uhm... that's only really because I accidentally hit you with my bag, and... well, okay, so I actually _was_ trying to hit you -I mean, not _you_, but... Uhm... well, I thought...!" she started, babbling incoherently now.

Arthur opened his mouth to yell, but then sighed, "Just spit it out, already!" he managed not to yell, though he still sounded irritated.

"Oh! Uhm, I'm sorry! I just thought you were a pervert!" she finally managed to get out.

"A... _pervert_...?" he paled -did she _really_ think so little of him? I mean, sure, _Francis_ he would understand, but _him...?_

"Ahk-! N-no! I mean, that came out wrong... Uhm...!" she started, only to be interrupted.

"N-No, it's... it's alright," he managed, though he was still a little shocked at the 'pervert' statement. "I... just came to say I was _sorry_ for yelling at you, before -I didn't really mean it... The whole 'I can't stand to look at you' thing... And, if I do something to anger you...

"You're... free to hit me," he said, not looking at her, though it was obvious that he was talking to _her_. (After all, there wasn't another soul for quite a distance from where they were.)

"Oh...!" Was he... trying to _apologize_...? That was why... And back _then_, too! Was he trying to apologize for yelling that time, too...? "But... I-I could never be mad at you!" she exclaimed, surprising the other out of his mild stupor. "I _love_ you! I always wanted to be British!" she exclaimed, though it didn't really make complete sense in the Briton's mind.

"Wha-?(!)"

"I-It's true! I wanted to be British! I mean, uhm... I... You... Can we be friends?(!)" she exclaimed.

_"And if someone does, what will you do...?"_

"Th-That's stu- I-It's not that great..." he mumbled, "Being a Nation," he said, "Let's just get back, shall we?"

"..." _Somehow..._ Jay thought, unable to help the smile that spread across her face as she hurried to catch up with the quickly advancing blond, _I think I've started to understand him a little more. He's... a little more awkward that most people, but, deep down..._

_He really is a nice person! Someone who speaks sincerely -from the heart..._

_A really, really good person...!_

* * *

"Fufu~ So, Angleterre, I hear you walked our dear jeune Jay home~" the Frenchman smirked, as they sat at the dinner table, "How was your_date_~?" he jibed.

"Wha- SHUT UP! IT WASN'T LIKE THAT, YOU GIT!"

"Heehee~ I'm just glad you're eating with us, today~" Jay smiled, surprising the Brit. Having not really expected them to wait up, she had decided to make typical Japanese food (ie lightly seasoned grilled fish, miso soup, a few side dishes, and, of course, rice!), "Do you like it?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, uh, it's..." Arthur started, though he stopped, when he noticed Francis' smug stare. "WHAT?(!)" he snapped.

"Fufu~ Nothing, dear Angleterre. Nothing at all~" he smirked.

"WILL YOU QUIT STARING AT ME, ALREADY?(!)"

Off to the side, Kiku ignored the ongoing argument, as he continued to eat.

"Hohoh~ I was only _looking,_ Bretagne, you're so _sensitive~_"

"ARGH-! JUST SHUT UP AND CUT IT OUT, BLOODY FROG!" he snapped, as he stuffed a little more food into his mouth.

"Uhm, so... do you not like it, Arthur...?" Jay asked innocently.

"NO! IT SUCKS!" he yelled.

"Ah..." he blinked, "N-No! I didn't mean that! I mean, I just timed it wrong!" he exclaimed, as Francis laughed his ass of in the background. "I really do like it!" he assured the girl, before turning to snarl at the cause of his misfortune (and the constant misunderstandings).

"DAMNIT FRANCIS!(!)!"

"...So loud..." Kiku sighed, as he finished his soup. The house had gotten much louder, since Arthur had returned, not that he really minded it.

It was just a little irritating at times was all.

Off to the side, Jay laughed, as she watched Francis and Arthur 'interact' as they normally did.

Things were looking up, already. She had a place to stay, and so many new friends, now that she was living at the Bonnefoy House...

She just couldn't _wait_ to see what the next day would bring-! she thought, as she smiled at the boys' silly antics from next to Kiku, who just sighed again, this time taking a sip of his tea.

Yup, she had a feeling that things would only be getting more exciting from here on out~~!

* * *

**A/N**: Hmn... a bit short this time around... only 8,022 words...

Oh well, I think we'll be making more than a little up for it with the Omake I'm putting out. As well all know (probably) there was an Earthquake a while ago in Japan that moved that affected all of us! So, I shall be posting this chapter's Omake with a dedication to Nihon-kun, for his recent hardships...

*moment of silence*

I do hope he'll be able to get back on his feet completely, and that he'll get a lot better soon, and go back to being the Japan that we all know and love!

In _other_ news, it seems that Russia'd been taking over China, around the same time that the Earthquake happened. (It snowed! Though some people might not get it =P So, feel free to ignore it, though you might understand better come the end of the Omake. Lol.)

Also, Review Replies! I plan on making a Review Corner from now on for all the Reviewers I can't answer personally.

Of course, thanks to everyone that reviewed! I'll put up the responses right before the Omake, for everyone! There are some important questions that will be answered, too, so... =P Yeah.

Also, if anyone noticed (I'm not sure that I talked about this last time), but Kiku called our currently as of yet still nameless 'Akito', "kami-sama". Well, as most of you know, that means 'God'. I decided it would be best if the countries called him by their own 'names', so that's why I used 'kami-sama'.

Also, the reason why, despite the fact that England keeps beating Francis up, England doesn't really go through with the 'break your neck' thing, is because the Nations can't kill each other. Yes, they can die, but they can't be killed by any of the other 'cursed' ones. Just thought I'd make that clear~ =3

And, without further ado~

The **Review Corner!:**

To **Star Anise**: Thanks for the review, Anise-san! I've very glad you like it! It's rare that I get such thorough reviews like I did from you, so, thank you!

As for France's ability to 'sense' the slide, he can't. Well, technically he couldn't, so _he_ didn't actually sense the landslide. You see, seeing that his National Animal is the Gallic Rooster, he can sense and communicate with Rooster (and Chickens in general) as a whole. But, if they're _Gallic_Roosters in particular, he can, uhm... what's the word Oh, yes! He basically has a sort of 'empathy link' with them, and, seeing as it was their property, and it's an easy way for them to not only know what's happening on the land, but to feel a little more 'at home' despite being stuck in America (two guesses as to why! XD As well as _who_ would have the ability to force them to do that, though, seeing how intuitive you are, I'll bet you don't even need that many!).

And since Kiku's animal is the Crane (Red-Crowned in particular), his 'animal' wouldn't know, seeing as they're water fowl and prefer to stay by the lake/river-sides, unlike Francis' Roosters, who like to stick a lot closer inland. So, since they're water fowl, they'd only feel a slight disturbance, at most, but wouldn't really know what it was. The _roosters_on the other hand, live inland, and I'd be willing to bet that enough were somewhere close enough to see _and_ feel what was happening. That's why Francis knew!

I hope that answers whatever questions you have for now, but, if you still have questions, please feel free to ask, and I'll try to clarify to the best of my ability! And I hope that you'll continue to enjoy my Fic! ^w^

(P.S.: I'm glad you think the National Animal thing is interesting~ A few of the animals _were_ kind of hard to figure out. After all, as you said, some overlap, but some _do_ have multiple Animals as well, so... I hope I can do a good job! ^^)

To **Tatertwig45**: Thank you for your review! And I think you'll be glad to know that yes, I _am_ planning to continue and finish this Fanfiction! =3 I do have plans from my 'Hatsuharu', but Akito will definitely be an OC -hope you don't mind, but I have the entire fanfiction planned out, as well as an iffy, but possible sequel, though I doubt I'll ever end up doing it. The idea's still WAY too unpolished for me to even think of starting one~ D=

As for Hatsuharu, I'm afraid I can't spoil that~ Though you may find a hint in the on-coming Omake~ *winks*

And, To **bloodybeth**: Well, I hope you know that I (think) I fixed it all~ =P If you do see anymore though, please tell me so I can fix it~ :hearts:

To everyone else (who reviewed): **Midna3452**, and **AccessBlade**.

Thanks for reading my fanfiction and taking the time to review! ^w^ I love getting reviews, and just from the five I got this chapter, I was spurred to work on this, though, unfortunately, I had already promised to work only on another story until I had finished revising it. D=

I'm sure you're all glad to know that I _did_ finish, though I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't get this up _before_ Spring Break ended... (For me, at least) So, there we are, and please feel free to ask any questions! I'll definitely answer them if I can! =3

Oh, and on one last note: **Please vote on the poll on my Profile!** It's Woruba-related, I promise! =D So you won't be wasting your time!

That's it, and please enjoy the Omake~! XD

Amazingly, it's even _longer_ than the chapter! *legasp!* (8,330 Words~! XD) It actually would've been longer, but I decided enough was enough. =P Hope you all like this one~ And again, please forgive for the short chapter~~ :hearts:

For this story, I was aiming for 10,000 words per chapter, but I'm afraid I've fallen a little below the mark... *pouts* But, it can't be helped! So, in return, a super-long Omake~! *cheers* And FOUR Hetalia! character intro's~ Whoot!

I think you'll all be highly amused by this~ I'm thinking of having this as just part of the future of the storyline, but that's still debatable -if I _do_end up making it happen, though, ya'll know~ =P And I promise I'll try to do another uber-long Omake something if the chapter that I decide to use this Omake as/for (if I _do_ decide to) is as long and entertaining as I can!

Lol! In anycase, I'll stop bothering you now and let ya read~ *grins*

But, as always, please REVIEW people! =3 Reviews inspire me to type faster! XP (I'd also really like to know what ya'll think of the Chapter and Omake, but... *shrugs* A girl can't have everything, can she~? D=)

So, without further a-do~ The (currently title-less) Omake...!

* * *

**OMAKE! Corner**:

"...Are you _sure_ you'll be able to?" Jay persisted in asking her fellow classmate.

Kikus sighed, "_Yes_, Bennett-san, I'm sure I can take care of myself," he managed to get the entire sentence out before going into a fit of coughs.

"But-"

"I'm _sure_," he assured her as soon as the fit was over, though his voice had become just a little raspy due to the fit. But, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a good throat-clearing, of course!

Jay frowned, but nodded, "Well... Okay then... Call if you need anything, okay?" she made him promise, "I'll leave one of the house phones by your table."

Kiku just nodded, "Thank you."

She hesitated for another half second.

"Are you _sure_ you'll be alright?" she asked once more.

Stifling a long-suffered sigh, Kiku replied once more, "For the last time, Bennett-san, _yes_. You're only going shopping -I believe I can take care of myself for a few hours," he said, trying to be gentle, but knowing that his irritation was showing through nonetheless -he always _was _a bit more irritable when he got sick...

Besides, it wasn't _that_ seriou- okay, so maybe it _was_.

He had been sick for the past several days now -and he'd been stuck in bed for at least two thirds the time of those days (after all, he couldn't just stay in his bed _all_ day, could he?). He'd actually fainted and stayed unconscious for the first few days, though, so he supposed it wasn't so bad, though there would be a boatload of work to catch up to when he got well enough to go back to school...

He knew the reason _why_ he'd fallen ill, of course, but it wasn't very comforting in the least.

Especially when the fact of the matter was because, as a Cursed Nation, he felt anything that happened to the land itself -and Japan had, quite recently, gone through an Earthquake that had been so severe as to affect the rest of the world, as well.

Time now moved an hour or so faster than it previously had.

But of course, that wasn't the worst part -the _worst_ part was the fact that, as with all natural disasters, people _died_. And he knew that his Nation's economy wouldn't be able to pick itself back up and run sufficiently for quite a while.

Chaos always followed this sort of disasters -take Katrina in Florida, for example. People had revealed their 'darker' sides, pilfering and pillaging from others in the time of crisis...

He honestly didn't know how a 'nitwit' (as England liked to call him -or, more commonly a 'git') like America had managed to stay so chipper -though Kiku supposed that, being a super-nation had helped...

But, back to the present, if Jay, as she liked to be called, continued to worry and fret as she did, he doubted that she'd be able to get the grocery shopping done.

Well, it was the weekend, at least, though it was also quite regrettable due to that same fact.

"Well... If you're sure..." Jay seemed to hesitate one last time.

"Bennett-san, do I really need to repeat myself?" he asked quietly, raising a single brow in askance. "I'll probably be taking a nap once you leave and may not even be awake when you get back," he reasoned, "So yes, please just _go_ so that Arthur and Francis-san don't complain about the fact that there will be no dinner tonight because you were too worried about me to even step out of house."

He knew he was guilt-tripping her, but he was _really_ starting to get exasperated with the (at times) air-headed woman. It was nice that she was so genuinely worried about him, but he had no doubts that she would be more of a hindrance than a help in this case -especially since (_most_ of) what he'd said was true anyways.

He doubted that a loud house would allow him to recuperate any quicker -which was possibly the reason why both males had deemed to stay out as much as they could lately Each to avoid the other in order to let the 'Personification' of the Japanese Nation to rest and recuperate as fast as he could. ('Personification' being the nicer way of wording the 'curse'.)

"..." Jay gave him a worried look but desisted at last, "Alright," she said, nodding to the ill teen, "I'll come back as soon as I can, ok?" she promised, "So please get some rest, Kiku!"

Kiku smiled, well, he supposed that her 'naivete' could be a bit charming as well, at times...

"I will," he promised, shifting back into his bed sheets, "And please, feel free to take your time -it wouldn't do for you to have to make more than one trip because you were rushing, now would it?"

Jay chuckled in response, "No, of course not!" she smiled, vacating the chair beside his bed, "Alright, I'll do my best to get it all done at once then," she told the other, "Sleep well, Kiku!" she told the other as she left the room, sliding the other's door shut (it was one of two bedrooms that had sliding doors rather than regular doors -one of which being a guest room with the other (quite obviously) being Kiku's room).

Kiku chuckled, "Thank you, Bennett-san," _I'll try_, he thought, snuggling back into his sheets with a sigh.

To be quite honest, he really wasn't that tired, but...

Well, he supposed that a short nap would be nice.

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

An hour or so later, found Juliana still at the grocery store. She had long since found the essentials, but was now looking at a few 'extras' that she was contemplating on getting.

On her way to the store, she had had to walk through one of the parks, and had actually found someone sitting rather precariously on a bench, fast asleep! She had found it adorable that several stray cats had seemed to have found their way to the brunette, but seeing how the man was in danger of falling off the bench, and being the kind of person that she was, Jay had gone over and gently woken the man up.

_"Ngh... Five more minutes.." _The tan male had murmured, leaning even closer to the end of the seat, and alarming the poor girl.

_"Uhm, please wake up!" _she had called, _"You're going to fall off...!"_

It had taken a while, but she had finally gotten the strange teen to wake up, revealing clear, almost teal green eyes.

_"Huh? What time's it...?"_ the man had mumbled, covering a yawn as he'd stretched, before looking at a watch on his right arm, _"Oh... Must've fallen asleep again... Thanks, uhm... What's your name...?"_ The boy's quiet tone had reminded her remarkably of a much more laid back Kiku, but she had shaken it out of her thoughts.

_"Oh, my name's Juliana Bennett -but you can call me Jay!"_ she had smiled, chuckling when the kitten that had somehow managed to climb into his head fell into his lap with a startled mewl, surprising the other.

_"Whoops-! Gotcha!"_ the other had mumbled, somehow managing the catch the kit before turning his attention back to her, _"Anyways, thanks for waking me up, Jay, it's very nice to meet you," _he had spoken to her quite politely, and with a very sincere tone (if not a little apathetic, though she was quite used to that from Rei, and, thanks to the elder girl had gotten quite used to reading people).

_"No problem! Uhm, if you don't mind my asking... How did you fall asleep on the bench?"_ she had asked, looking quite curious as she tilted her head quizzically.

_"Uhm... Dunno, really... I just remember wandering for a while and getting lost, then deciding to take a break..._

_"After that, I remember thinking about how nice the breeze was, and... I guess I just fell asleep," _he'd mumbled sheepishly.

Jay had just giggled in response, _"Oh! I see, well, I hope you find the place you're looking for!"_ she had said, as the other got up, scratching the back of his head.

_"Yeah, I should probably be going... Thank again -and maybe we'll see each other again sometimes soon...?"_ he had said with a warm smile, that had elicited one of her own.

_"Of course!"_ she had replied cheerfully, before they had parted ways -she had barely gone a few steps before remembering that she had also been wondering about why the cats had been gathering around the male, but, when she had turned back the other had just disappeared somewhere.

What an odd man...

{Truth be told, he had actually just gotten tired again, and decided to take another nap -this time under a nice, shady tree (thus taking himself out of her sight).}

As she finished her shopping, though, she ended up bumping into someone at the check-out lines.

"Oof-!" she stepped back, started at the suddenty of getting a face full of cloth.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't looking/watching where I was going," both of them apologized, surprising both of them, before they got a good look at each other.

Looking up, she found herself facing a rather oddly dressed man that was a bit darker than the boy whom she'd met at the park, but still light enough to be considered 'tan' (or maybe 'bronze'...?). The man was also, strangely, wearing what looked to be some kind of turban, with some of the plain white cloth falling to either side of his face like little curtains, as well as a little red hat that reminded her of the Disney Aladdin movies. {Yes, I went there! XD}

He was wearing a rather long, knee length jacket (and he was _tall_, so that was saying something) and what looked like some kind of trousers that were tucked into a pair of what _looked_ like galoshes. She almost had to take another step back just to see the other's face clearly, not that it would've mattered, though, what with the plain white mask that covered his eyes. (He was also at least a foot taller than her, making her feel like a dwarf, in comparison.)

On the other hand, the man was blinking behind his mask, relieved that it had only been a light 'bump' and that no skin had touched (Yes, he's paranoid), though he was more surprised at the girl's politeness, and the fact that they had spoken practically the same thing at the same time.

He had found, in his twenty-some year lifetime that most teenagers tended to be much ruder, typically giving the other party the blame for the most part, or not really meaning what they said at all (the girl in front of him looked quite warm and sincere in comparison).

Well, aside from the one or two (okay, only _one_) teenage exception that he knew -and the only one(s) that he really _liked_ as well.

"My apologies, miss, please, go ahead," he said, smiling slightly, as he motioned for the girl to go in front of him. After living in America for so long, his accent, quite sad to say, had almost all but diminished -he had managed to keep most of it, though, enough for his speech to be considered to have a 'thick' accent to it to it despite having lived here for years. As far as 'immigrants' went, though, he fared much better in everyday life, if one ignored the fact that people tended to give him odd looks or stares for his attire.

"Eh? Oh, no! I couldn't possibly!" she blinked, the honest-to-goodness surprised expression on her face only confirming his original conception of her -she was an honest girl. Something that was rare in this day and age -_especially_ in this country... {Not saying that all American Females are liars, of course. Everyone lies at least once in their life, so... No offense peoples -I'm American as well. =P I just figured it'd be his idea of 'typical' these days, lol. (It's all for the plot, I swear! _Pleasedon'tkillme-!_)}

The other man just chuckled, "It's quite alright, miss, I don't have nearly as many groceries as you do," he pointed out, comparing her full basket to his own, which only had a few things in it.

Juliana blushed, "Oh. W-Well... If you insist... But, please, call me Jay! It feels awkward when people call me 'Miss'," she admitted.

The other man just chuckled, "Very well then, Jay. You may call me Sadik," he informed her.

She smiled and nodded, "Okay then, Mr. Sadik!"

"Just Sadik, please," he told her sheepishly, "The 'Mister' makes me feel old."

"Right then... Sadik!" she smiled back, feeling very chagrined by the fact.

"Oh, uhm. And, if you don't mind me asking... Since you only have a few items... Why didn't you go to one of the shorter lines?" she asked, pointing to the some of the shortest lines in the aisle. All of which had a sign overhead saying 'Ten Items or Less ONLY'.

Sadik blinked, "Oh..." he grinned sheepishly, "I didn't think of that," he admitted, "I suppose I'm just used to buying a lot at once," he told her, "I forgot..."

Jay giggled, "It's alright, I, myself, almost went into that line!" she admitted with a smile of her own, "I used to only have to buy for two people -but now that I'm living with my... _friends_... I'm in charge of cooking and cleaning, so..."

Sadik just smiled, "I see, well, I suppose I should go then- I don't want to cold items to melt," he explained, "Perhaps we will meet again," he told her by way of 'goodbye'.

Jay just nodded, "Yeah! That'd be great -I guess I'll see you around then~!" she waved as she moved a little closer to the conveyer.

Sadik nodded back, "Farewell, my friend." And with that, he was gone, heading for the shorter lines...

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

Meanwhile, back at the Bonnefoy House, Kiku found that he couldn't sleep so well after all. Not just because of the stifling heat from being under the thick blankets despite it being quite warm and sunny outside, but due to the even more stifling silence.

_I suppose I've gotten used to the loudness, _he thought sheepishly, smiling a bit at the thought.

How odd, before he had moved in, he would've given _anything_ for things to be quiet (which was, actually, one of the reasons why he had moved in with Francis) -now, though...

Now, he was kind of starting to _miss_ the everyday loudness that the rest of the household had brought into his quiet life...

Perhaps he was becoming too used to living with the rambunctiousness, what with the warmth that he was greeted with everyday -not that he hadn't been greeted when he had lived in the Main Estates, but...

Most of the greeting had been a bit colder (or a lot colder, depending) if he were even greeted at all. Not to mention that there were some _scary_people in the 'Family'! True, he had not always lived at the Estates, but he had rarely lived with more than one person before then.

Now though, he found that he was truly becoming accustomed to living like this, with Francis, Arthur, and Jay...

"你好 ~! 有人在吗 ?" called an exceedingly familiar voice that made the sick boy shiver. {Pronunciation: NǐHǎo~! YǒuRénZàiMa? Translation: Hello~! Is anyone home~?}

Oh no... he thought, starting to pale, It _couldn't_ be! Not _him_! he thought, groaning mentally, as the soft pattering of quick, light made their way up the stairs, stopping just long enough for his door to be practically slammed open.

"Aiya~ There you are, aru!" The slender, Chinese, feminine-looking male beamed as he entered the room, holding a covered tray in one hand, while the other was still on the door.

Yup, it was _him_, the young Japanese sighed mentally, leaning back against the pillows that had been fluffed up for him in defeat.

It was his _brother_ of all people...

"Hello, brother," he said, smiling weakly in the face of, perhaps, (one of) his greatest 'foe(s)' of all time...

And overly protective (not to mention mother-hen like) elder sibling.

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

Back at the supermarket, Juliana finally finished making her purchases (_how_ she managed to carry all six bags of groceries would be a question for another day, as well as the fact that she was carrying such a full basket in the store...).

As she smiled to herself, humming as she walked down the path, she caught two familiar voices being raised in what sounded like an argument. And, since it was along her route anyways, she decided to check it out, curious as it was.

Turning at the next corner she blinked, "Ah..."

It was the two she had met earlier today! The brunette and the odd (but nice) man she now knew was named Sadik.

Of course, being the naive and clutzy person that she was, her exclamation drew the attention of both males, despite their argument being louder than her own voice.

"Oh, you're-" "Aren't you-" both started.

"-Jay/that girl I met earlier?" they said as once, before blinking and exchanging a confused look.

"Huh?" "You've met her?" they started speaking at the same time again

Unable to help herself at the evident humor of the situation, she giggled, "Hello!" she said, feeling the smile tugging at her lips.

"Sadik and... uhm... well, I never caught your name, did I?" she thought, tilting her head slightly at the younger brunette

"Ah... I'm... Heracles," he nodded, "Heracles Karpusi -Jay, right?" he asked, ignoring the other man in favor of conversing with her.

Sadik had smiled when she recalled his name correctly, but shot a suspicious glare at the younger male, "Of _course_," he snorted, "You_would_ be rude enough not to have introduced yourself the _first_ time," he remarked scathingly, as he rolled his eyes from behind his mask.

"Wha- I was sleepy, okay!" Heracles frowned at the taller male, before turning back to Jay with a smile, "It _is_ nice to meet you though -even with _that_ guy hanging around," he shot his own glare at the other man.

"Oh _please_, don't tell me you forget all etiquette just because you're '_tired_'," he snapped, glaring back just as suspiciously as the other did.

_Oh boy..._ Jay thought, sweating, as she was very suddenly reminded of a certain duo that lived at the Bonnefoy House. _Why do I have a feeling that they're going to keep arguing unless I do something...? _she wondered.

_And _why_ do I get the feeling that this happens every time they meet...?_

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

By the time that she had finished explaining how she'd met each of them to the other, both had calmed down sufficiently enough to be 'civil' towards each other at the very least.

When she had finished, both had nodded -grudging, yes, but- acceptingly of the stories. After all, even if they couldn't trust each other, they knew that Jay, at the very least, was honest.

Or, that was how they _felt_ anyways.

Once that was over, though, noticing her heavy bags, the other two offered to help carry them. Of course, she had refused the offers at first, but both were so insistent...

She ended up giving in to their demands -of course, she made sure both had an even amount of bags, in order to keep them from fighting again (they were now carrying two bags each)- though when she told them where she was headed, the two actually exchanged non-scathing, surprised looks.

At their looks, Jay ended up becoming confused, and had asked why they looked so surprised, when it was revealed that they had been going to the same place as well!

Imagine her surprise, when Jay found out that the two she had met today both knew Kiku! Especially when they admitted (under careful question) that they were part of the same 'family' as well.

Needless to say, Juliana Bennett had been one more than ecstatic girl. Especially when she realized that they would be having guests over as well!

By now, though, they had reached the house, and she had _just_ been about to open the door, when she paused.

Was it just her or was there a _scream_ coming from the house...?(!) she started, as all three exchanged looks, and she reached for the door.

Of course, she never had the chance to open it, as the door was slammed open, and a beautiful looking man (for it could only _be_ a man, despite how slender and feminine looking he was) ran right into her screaming blood murder!

"Eek-!" she started, as she was hit was a force strong enough to push her back.

"_Jay-!_" both of her companions started forward -and, was it just her, or did this reek of deja-vu?

_Poof!_ A large cloud of smoke appeared as Jay shut her eyes, feeling something (or _things_) soft beneath her.

"Eh...?" She blinked, ignoring the dizzy and confused looking man in front of her, to look behind her and came face to face with...

A large grey wolf and a... _dolphin_?(!)

"**Oops...**" a voice that could only have been Heracles startled her out of her shock, and she found herself turning back to the Dolphin.

"** 'Oops'? What do you mean '****_Oops_****'?**(**!**)" Sadik snapped, "**I think this warrants ****_more_**** than just an 'Oops', you idiot!**" the Wolf snarled.

"**Well, what ****_else_**** can I say? 'Oh, so ****_sorry_****, Jay, but you're hallucinating, please turn away for a while, and forget all about this'?**" the Dolphin chirped back, amazingly unaffected by the fact that it was _on land_, and out of the water. Although, perhaps that had something to do with the fact that it was a mammal...

"Uhm..." she started, before the others could start yet _another_ argument (she was pretty sure they had gone through at least four on the way home) and calling their attention to herself.

"I-It's okay, guys... I know about the 'secret'," she admitted. She had asked if they were 'from the same family' before, but apparently she wasn't so good at being discreet as she'd though.

They'd actually taken her seriously...

"**...**" Both seemed to be staring at her in shock for several (quite awkward, in her mind) minutes, before another 'poof' of smoke caused her to 'Eep!' and turn around hastily even as she covered her eyes.

Behind her, two tanned, naked men exchanged a (still) surprised look, before they snapped out of their shock, and hurriedly rushed to pull their clothes on.

In Heracles' case, his undergarments (socks and briefs), a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket.

Just as they were about to question her, though, a large, imposing figure appeared in the doorway, causing both men to freeze.

What in all hells was _he_ doing here...?(!) the two shrieked mentally, as the violet-eyed male blinked, and smiled at them (or rather, at the unconscious body on the floor).

"Oh, there he is!" he blinked, smiling pleasantly, "You shouldn't play tag with Ivan, _da_? Yao~" he told the unconscious body, as he leaned down to pick the poor man up. {the 'da' is so typical of him, that I think I'm just going to leave it in english format. =P I don't think I'd have the patience to copy/paste the correct Russian every single time... although, that may just be for this omake. We'll see~}

He blinked, though, when he realized that the man was wearing something different again, as he hefted the small man onto his shoulder, before noticing the others. "Oh, hello, friends~" he said, as a chill ran down the other's spines despite the 'reassuring' smile on the man's face.

"I'll be going now, da? Kiku fell asleep already," he informed them, "Don't worry, I'll take Yao home today~" he said with a smile, before walking away.

Jay continued to stare after the tall, beige-blond/sandy haired male wearing the scarf and jacket in the middle of a heat spell, before shaking her head slightly, and picking her (thankfully unharmed) groceries off the ground, and turning back to the silent duo behind her.

"Uhm... Come in, I guess -I'll put the groceries away and make some tea... unless you'd prefer something else?" she the two, who just absently shook their heads in response.

Huh, she wondered why they were so quiet all of a sudden, before shaking it off. Eh, oh well -at least they wouldn't be fighting for a while now~ she thought, as she took all the groceries into the kitchen...

Upstairs, Kiku was still passed out after having fainted in the face of the scariest 'Nation' any of them would (probably) ever know...

No one had noticed the fact that Francis and Arthur were still missing... (Or the fact that the 'tall man' had just _kidnapped_ someone... Honestly, people nowadays.)

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

**Earlier that day...**

_"Hello, brother,"_ Kiku had greeted the effeminately slender male, hiding the relief that no one else was around to see his 'doting brother' (Juliana in particular), even as he swallowed the horror that his brother was even _there_.

It wasn't that he didn't love his brother -or appreciate him. He did, really he did! It was just that...

Well, his brother tended to go _overboard _sometimes. A _lot_ overboard.

Such as the time he had tripped at the park as a child...

_"Wah-!" a seven year old Kiku cried out, as he tripped._

_"Aiya! Kiku, are you alright?(!)" Yao had exclaimed, running over, and proceeding to baby him even when he had told the other it was nothing, and that he did _not_ need to go to the damn hospital when he had barely even nicked the skin._

Or that time when he had graduated from Elementary School...

_Yao sniffled, before practically sobbing out loud, much to an eleven year old Kiku's horror. He was bawling even louder than any of the _moms_ at the minor formality!_

_Yes, he had gotten the highest grades and was the best liked student, but_really_...?_

Kiku shuddered at the memories.

Ugh, and those had just been _two_ of at least a hundred times worth of 'minor' things (or so in his mind) -one of the reasons he had moved into the Estates in the first place.

Luckily, even since he had 'left' (at least, ever since the _second_ time -the first time, when he'd first moved into the Estates Yao had gotten even worse, though he could kind of understand why, when he had finally met the Russian Nation of the 'family' -still, they barely even saw each other, let alone talked, so he honestly hadn't seen why the older male was such a worry for Yao, though now he knew that it had been because of the male's unhealthy obsession with his 'brother' (who he actually wasn't even related to by blood! They were two different nationalities, for pete's sake!)) the Estates and started living with Francis, the other had left him alone a little more.

Typically, they now tended to ignore each other, but every now and then (in a state of general 'emergency'), they would usually push aside their 'differences' and be civil to each other...

Well, at least in _Kiku's_ case, he did. Yao, apparently, was still a major worry-wart.

"...and some porridge for you! Just in case you still can't handle solid foods~" the Chinese man had been talking for quite a while now, despite the fact that Kiku hadn't even been listening, though he had perked up at the words 'food' and 'porridge'.

The only really good things he remembered from living with Yao as a child, was that the food had been good (though the -elder- Asian nation had been a stickler for manners), even when he had been sick, the food had been good.

And for Yao to have taken so much care and to make him his favorites (as he noticed when the other had whipped off the cover, and the delicious aroma had assaulted his nostrils), Kiku _supposed_ he could endure a few hours of his elder sibling's company...

Well, so long as he was gone before the other came back, anyways -Francis would be sure to embarrass him by tell thing others stories about his childhood years (or as far as the Frenchman knew, anyways -thank _goodness_ he didn't know about the _worst_ memories...).

He had no doubt that Arthur would laugh his arse off, and that Juliana would giggle or smile at the very least, no matter _how_ nice she was...

He sighed, accepted the other ministrations with a defeated air, though he was careful to keep from the other 'Nation' as much as he could.

Even when he had finished his food, and thanked the other for the delicious meal, the elder of the two had just smiled, and thanked him for the compliment.

They managed to stay almost another hour in each other's company without any mishaps after that, thankfully.

Unfortunately, neither noticed when the front door creaked open, and a large figure managed to somehow (and quite surprisingly) slip in through the door silently, making his way up the stairs, just as Yao left to go clean the dishes.

So, to say that Yao was shocked, when he returned to find his younger brother passed out, and a very familiar figure standing over the boy, would've been quite an understatement.

He had been scared for his life -and, thinking that his poor little bother had been killed, he did the only thing he _could_ do...

He screamed.

And, of course, the scream drew the attention of the large man who turned, revealing a long, metal pipe in one hand, as the other held a bottle of alcohol -vodka, in particular.

"Oh, hello, Yao. You will become one with Russia today, da-?" he started, though, before he could finish speaking, the smaller man had already run off.

"..." The large Russian just blinked, "Oh, he must want to play tag~" he giggled, slipping the bottle of vodka he'd just finished drinking (there was still a third left in the bottle) back into his pocket, smiling widely.

"It'd be no fun if I caught him do fast~ So I'll give him a head start," he said, nodding to himself sagely, as he somehow hid the pipe in his jacket.

"I'll count to twenty~" he grinned, before looking around, for a good place to stand, before shrugging and deciding to stay where he was.

"Odin~ Dva... Tri~ Chetrye..." he started...

{Again, don't feel like copying and pasting all the words from google -so I'm sorry if they're a little wrong, since I'm writing the... er.. Cyrillic? Or was it just phonetic...? *mumbles and shakes head* version of the Russian~ =P}

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

As Jay set down the tea, she chuckled a bit at the two's antics.

Despite their age differences they seemed to get along so well -and at least they didn't fight physically (yet) like Francis and Arthur tended to.

Unfortunately, both heard her laugh, and turned to her, wondering why she was laughing.

She just smiled, "You must get along very well, don't you~?" she asked.

The two males stared at her, before starting to argue again -this time,_much_ louder.

They did _not_ get along with each other...!

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

"..." Kiku blinked, yawning as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes -were Francis and Arthur back already...? he wondered, rubbing an eye sleepily, as he heard the arguing coming from downstairs...

Hn, he supposed he'd better get up and tell the two blockheads to knock it off -no doubt Arthur was say something stupid again, when Jay tried to stop them (again), and then Francis would knock Arthur a new one, and another fight would ensue...

Again.

He sighed, sliding his feet into his slippers, before walking out of the room...

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

_BAM_. To say that the trio was surprised was an understatement, as a bleary-eyed adolescent glared into the room.

"Please be quiet, some of us are trying to sleep, you know," the onyx-haired teen informed the group with exceedingly remarkable calm for one who was supposedly 'ticked off'.

"Oh... Kiku! You're awake!" Jay smiled at the brown-eyed Asian, who was staring back as the two surprised (and most definitely) _not_ blond Nations before looking back to her with a little confusion, as she waved him over, patting the empty seat beside her.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked the confused male.

"...Yes, please, Bennett-san," he managed to get out as he blinked at the girl and shuffled over.

Jay just smiled again, giggling as she poured another cup of tea for the boy (and yes, they were using an actual tea set that she had managed to find and clean in the kitchen).

Giving her a mildly curious look (and now wide awake), he absently took a sip of the tea -and was instantly surprised.

It was _good_-! Very few people knew how to make good, traditional tea like this anymore...

Jay smiled, "Do you like it?" she asked.

Kiku nodded slowly as he put it down, before turning to face the other two. "What are you doing here?" he asked, unable to hide all of the surprise that colored his expression.

"We heard you were sick," started Heracles, as Sadik told him "We came to visit you." at the same time.

Both males glared at each other.

Kiku just gave them a blank look before sighing, "Please don't fight in the house -for one, this is Francis-san's home, and secondly, I'd rather not that you make a mess that Bennett-san will have to clean up," he warned them.

Both blinked, but subsided, nodding.

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask -Why's Jay here anyways?" started Sadik as Heracles nodded.

"Yeah, and what do you mean _she'll_ have to clean up?" he asked.

It seemed that, for once, at least, they both agreed on something. Or rather, didn't argue about thinking the same thing.

Just why _was_ Jay staying at the Bonnefoy House...? After all, it wasn't like she was a Nation -as far as they could tell, anyways (what with the 'accident' just a little while ago (something that had been pushed -for the most part- into the recesses of their minds...)). And why was she stuck with doing the cooking and cleaning?(!)

Much to their surprise, Kiku wasn't the one to answer -but Juliana herself.

"Oh, that's because I live here now!" she said with a smile, "in return for doing the housework, of course~" she added after a moment's thought.

"...Huh?" "What-?" Both males stared at her (again).

As one would probably have to know, not many people outside the 'family' (in fact, none as far as they were aware) knew about the family's secret, let alone was allowed to live with them. As for the fact that she had been allowed to retain her memory as it was...

Well, just the fact that she 'remembered' was amazing unto itself.

"Uhm... Is something wrong?" Jay asked when the two exchanged a glance before continuing (in their own ways, of course) to gape at her, oblivious to the questions floating in the air as Kiku sighed.

"I don't know why," he started, catching the other occupants' attention, "but He gave us permission," he admitted, causing Heracles to nod slowly while Sadik just looked confused (or rather, as confused as one could be wearing the mask he was).

"But why would He give permission when he hasn't for so long?" he asked, looking just as baffled as he felt.

Kiku just shrugged, as Jay fell silent, sensing that something important was going on.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know -Francis-san was the one who talked to Him, not me," he explained.

The others nodded -well, _that_ made sense...

"Oh-!" The exclamation started all three males, as Jay got up, "You're staying for dinner, right?" she asked, "In that case, I should probably start preparing the food!" she said, "I hope you don't mind waiting," she apologized.

Kiku just nodded, "I think the bath's still free since the others aren't back yet," he pointed out.

For the first time, Heracle's eyes showed a glint of excitement, "It's the big one, right?" he asked, a smile making its way onto his features at Kiku's nod, "In that case, I think a bath sounds great!" he grinned, getting up.

"Wha-? Hey! Who said you get first dibs? I'm calling it! DIBS!" Sadik called out rather (surprisingly) childishly, as he hurried after the other.

"No way, man! I got here first...!" The arguing got fainter as they continued down the hall -apparently familiar with the house.

"...? 'Big one'...?" Jay blinked, staring after the two in confusion.

Noticing her expression, Kiku decided to clarify. "The 'public' bath was remodeled a while ago," he told her, "It used to be a regular bathroom, but since had gotten destroyed in an... _incident_... Francis-san decided to go all out if it had to be rebuilt anyways and had it remodeled," he explained.

"Ooh~! So it wasn't always there?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Kiku shook his head, "No, most of the house was remodeled before I moved in with him, since he liked the 'open' and 'spacey' affect," he sighed.

Typical Francis.

Jay just nodded, seeming to understand, "Oh, I see! Well, I guess I'd better be off then," she said, "Would you like me to leave the tea?" she asked.

Kiku nodded, "Yes please," he told her, smiling a bit.

"Okay!" she beamed, "Oh-! And, since I'm making dinner anyways, is there anything in particular that you'd like?" she asked.

Kiku blinked. Something he liked...?

It had been a long time since anyone had asked his opinion in the matter, and he hesitated for a while.

"Well... I suppose... Nikujaga...?" he blinked, before wondering if maybe it would be a bit too much, "Oh, but if it's too much-" he started

Jay just grinned, "No way! I can totally make you some!" she informed him, "Mom used to ask for it sometimes~ So I know how to make it," she explained.

Kiku blinked, but smiled, "I see. In that case, thank you very much, Bennett-san," he told her. It had been so long since he'd had the Japanese version of the 'English' Beef Stew. {English as in British, not American}

Jay just smiled, "You just relax here and wait~ I'll have it ready in no-time!" she informed him, before walking out and heading for the kitchen.

It was a good thing she'd bought some meat today as well -especially since they had been having a special on fresh beef as well! What a lucky coincidence...!

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

By the time that Francis and Arthur had come back (bickering even as they set foot into the house), dinner preparations had been complete, and Heracles and Sadik had managed to finish their baths with not too much trouble (though at one point, their bickering could be heard from the kitchen, where Jay had heard them arguing over... Ahem! Their... '_lengths_' -causing her (and Kiku) to blush beet red).

Needless to say, dinner had been a rather... _interesting_... affair...

(Especially when the two -currently- darker occupants of the house began fighting over who'd sleep where, as well as who'd brought the best gift. (Sadik had brought some snacks that Kiku liked as well as a Turkish specialty for dessert, while Heracles had somehow acquired some fish from seemingly nowhere -both canned and fresh) Needless to say, Kiku had thanked them both equally and set both gifts aside, to store/enjoy later. Though, Arthur apparently didn't really like the Nikujaga as it -apparently- 'butchered' his specialty, though he hadn't complained for too long, and had ended up finishing it anyways.)

After dinner, though, they all split up, and prepared for bed -several arguments happened over the course of the next... ten minutes or so, but other than that, things had gone rather smoothly (especially considering that nothing/no-one had been broken/injured/maimed in anyway).

Once their nightly 'rituals' were over, they had all went to bed -with Heracles and Sadik staying in Kiku's room, since he'd been the whole reason they'd come to visit anyways.

Everyone slept surprisingly well that night, and no arguments had broken out until the next morning, when the two guests found that they had somehow rolled quite close to each other during the night and had started arguing and insulting each other rather early in the morning (thankfully it had been the weekend, though).

All in all, they had had a fun time, though. And they had all promised to meet up again (though a few less willingly)...

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

It wasn't until after their guests that Jay had remembered something rather important...

"Ah-!" she blinked, calling the attention of the house's typical (and male) occupants to her. "I never asked what Nations they were..." she sighed rather disappointedly.

"Ah, well, that's quite easy to fix, ma chere fille~" Francis smiled, a rose appearing out of nowhere in his hand (once again). "Young Heracles is_Grece_, of course -Greece," he added, when he remembered that she didn't understand much more than the typical french _any_ American knew.

"And Sadik-san is the Personification of Turkey," Kiku added, as Arthur continued to grumble at having had to wake up at seven in the morning -_much_ too early for a weekend, apparently.

"Oh!" she smiled, "I see! That explains the Dolphin and the Wolf then~" she smiled, "I wasn't sure about it, but now I know~"

The others smiled, as Arthur just mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'who the bloody hell cares', though at least he had the common decency not to voice it aloud.

Francis just smiled, as Kiku nodded, as several countries had overlapping National Animals.

But, in the end, all's well that ended well. Kiku had managed to get back to normal quite soon, meaning that his own Nation would be sure to follow, but until that time, at least things had gone back to normal...

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD! I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ARSE SO BAD YOU'LL BE IN THE HOSPITAL FOR MONTHS!"

...Yup, normal. Or, rather, as normal as things _could_ get in the Bonnefoy House, Kiku thought with a sigh...

. X - x - X - x - X - x - X - x - X .

"Ah!" Jay blinked once she was back in the kitchen (preparing Lunch this time -she was making it early today, since she was planning on meeting up with Morissa and Rei later on in the day, and probably wouldn't be home then).

"I completely forgot about that person from before!" she murmured, the knife pausing as she thought back to the effeminate man that had run right into her, and the larger beige-blond male that had come out soon after.

"Eh, oh well, I'm sure it wasn't too important~" she thought, as she continued to slice some vegetables -partly for a healthy snack, and partly for the lunch she was planning to make... (Egg Salad Sandwiches)

...Elsewhere, a certain Chinese man sneezed, before freezing in his attempt to escape the house of the madman who had been stalking him for quite a while now (not that he knew how or why -he _still_ hadn't realized that the 'Panda' he so loved was in reality the large Russian in disguise).

"..." He turned his head slowly as he felt an icy aura behind him.

"You were not trying to leave while I was sleeping, were you Yao?" the thick Russian accent was showing through as the other laughed his customary -yet _extremely_ creepy- 'Kolkolkol' laugh.

"Ahahah... N-No, aru! Of-of course not!" the man was sweating bullets as he laughed (quite nervously, too).

"Oh, then you won't mind staying for a while longer... _da?_" the smile was back, and in full force, as the male 'glared' down at him...

"O-of course... not... aru!" he gulped, the 'aru' that he had been working so long to keep out of his speech was back -and with a _vengeance_.

This could _not_ be good...

"Kolkolkol~"


	5. IMPORTANT! Revamped and Reposted Story!

Seems like Woruba's the lucky first that gets to be reposted... That's right! Ya'll read that right!

Woruba's finally making a come back! ;D

Apologies to everyone that's been waiting for so long, but hey, at least I'm back? ...ish...

Sort of, anyways.

In any case, Woruba is being re-vised/re-written into pure 3rd Person format, and the first chapter has been posted on my other account.

I won't be completely dumping this account, but this is mainly going to be my old stuff that's...like, old, now... haha.

Anyways, I'll get to the point since (if you feel like it) you'll be reading a long enough A/N and explanation in the first chapter... eheh...heh...yeah, sorry about that.

Anyways here's the link: **s/10630461/1/Woruba-the-World-in-a-Basket**

And just in case it doesn't show, here's the story ID separate as well: **10630461**

I hope everyone enjoys the revamped version of the story! ;) I've finally rediscovered just how much fun writing can be.

So hopefully other stories will be finding themselves either reposted or updated at long last! hehe~

Ciao, ciao~~!

May we meet again, everyone!

- Murasaki Argenteria (08.19.2014)


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